Dream Big Energy, LLC v. Eclipse Resources - Ohio, LLC ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION DREAM BIG ENERGY, LLC, Plaintiff, : Case No. 2:18-cv-1525 - vs - Judge Sarah D. Morrison Chief Magistrate Judge Elizabeth P. Deavers ECLIPSE RESOURCES-OHIO, LLC, et al. : Defendants. OPINION AND ORDER On October 30, 2018, Plaintiff Dream Big Energy, LLC, (“Dream Big”) filed a Complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Guernsey County against Eclipse Resources-Ohio, LLC, and Eclipse Resources I, LP. (ECF No. 1-3.) On November 27, 2018, the defendants removed the case to this Court on the grounds of diversity jurisdiction. (ECF No. 1) On September 16, 2019, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint adding four defendants, Blue Racer Midstream, Inc.; Blue Racer Midstream, LLC; EnLink Midstream Operating, LP; and EnLink Midstream Operating, GP, LLC. (ECF No. 30.) On November 1, 2019, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed all claims pending against Blue Racer Midstream, Inc. (ECF No. 40.) On March 12, 2020, the Court issued an order requiring Defendants Blue Racer Midstream, LLC; EnLink Midstream Operating, LP; and EnLink Midstream Operating, GP, LLC, to provide additional information to identify their citizenships to allow this Court to determine whether it still had subject matter jurisdiction. (ECF No. 60.) On March 19, 2020, EnLink Midstream Operating, LP, and EnLink Midstream Operating, GP, LLC, filed a notice identifying their partners and members. (ECF No. 62.) One of the members of EnLink Midstream Operating, LP, is EnLink Midstream Partners, LP. (Id.) One of the partners of EnLink Midstream Partners, LP, is EnLink Midstream, LLC. (Id.) EnLink Midstream, LLC, is a publicly traded company with at least one unitholder who is an Ohio citizen. (Id.) Pursuant to the operating agreement for EnLink Midstream, LLC, each of its unitholders is a member of the LLC. (Id.) Because one of the members of EnLink Midstream, LLC, is an Ohio citizen, EnLink Midstream, LLC is an Ohio citizen. See Delay v. Rosenthal Collins Grp., LLC, 585 F.3d 1003, 1005 (6th Cir. 2009) (“[A] limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members.”). That means that EnLink Midstream Partners, LP, is an Ohio citizen. See Hooper v. Wolfe, 396 F.3d 744, 748 (6th Cir. 2005) (“For purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, a limited partnership is deemed to be a citizen of every state where its general and limited partners reside.” (emphasis deleted)). Accordingly, EnLink Midstream Operating, LP, is an Ohio citizen. See id. Plaintiff is a citizen of Ohio because its sole member, Andrew Fadorsen, is an Ohio resident. (ECF No. 1, at 3.) Thus, there is not complete diversity in this case, because Plaintiff and at least one of the defendants (EnLink Midstream Operating, LP) are both Ohio citizens. “[T]he presence in the action of a single plaintiff from the same State as a single defendant deprives the district court of original diversity jurisdiction over the entire action.” Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 553 (2005). This Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over this matter, and this case is DISMISSED and is REMANDED to the Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas. IT IS SO ORDERED. /s/ Sarah D. Morrison SARAH D. MORRISON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE