Sem Soccer Entertainment Management Corporation v. J.A. Masters Events, LLC; Jefferson Castro; and Does 1 through 10, inclusive
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Malcolm F. Marsh (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment against Defendant JAME LLC and determined that it could not establish subject matter jurisdiction because the Complaint failed to allege the citizenship of the LLC's sole member. The court ordered Plaintiff to file a response providing sufficient information to determine the LLC's citizenship within 30 days, or face dismissal without prejudice.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Order to show cause regarding subject matter jurisdiction“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff shall file a response to this Order within (30) days of its filing that provides sufficient information for the Court to determine the citizenship of Defendant J.A. Masters Events, LLC. If Plaintiff fails to do so, the Court will dismiss this action without prejudice.” | agree with court The court correctly identified that it has an affirmative duty to ensure subject matter jurisdiction exists before entering default judgment. Because an LLC's citizenship is derived from its members, and the sole member's citizenship was not alleged, the court cannot verify complete diversity. Ordering the plaintiff to provide this information is a standard procedural mechanism to resolve jurisdictional deficiencies. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly applies the affirmative duty to verify jurisdiction in default judgment cases. It accurately cites Ninth Circuit precedent regarding the citizenship of LLCs and identifies the specific factual gap (missing citizenship of the sole member) that prevents the court from confirming complete diversity. The remedy (order to show cause with threat of dismissal) is appropriate and standard.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SEM SOCCER ENTERTAINMENT Case No.: 3:25-cv-00229-WQH-VET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, a 12 Massachusetts Corporation, ORDER 13 Plaintiff, 14 v. 15 J.A. MASTERS EVENTS, LLC, a 16 California Limited Liability Company; JEFFERSON CASTRO, an individual and 17 sole manager of J.A. Masters Events, 18 LLC; and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, 19 Defendants. 20 HAYES, Judge: 21 On January 31, 2025, Plaintiff SEM Soccer Entertainment Management Corporation 22 (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint against Defendants J.A. Masters Events, LLC (“JAME 23 LLC”) and Jefferson Castro (“Castro”). (Complaint, ECF No. 1.) 24 On May 21, 2025, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause requiring Plaintiff to 25 file proof of service as to Defendants JAME LLC and Castro. (ECF No. 3.) On the 26 27 1 following day, Plaintiff filed proof of service of summons on Defendant JAME LLC. (ECF 2 No. 4.) 3 On July 7, 2025, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s claims against Defendant Castro for 4 failure to effectuate service of process. (ECF No. 5.) 5 On August 13, 2025, Plaintiff filed an Application for Entry of Default against 6 Defendant JAME LLC. (ECF No. 6.) On August 15, 2025, the Clerk of Court entered 7 default as to Defendant JAME LLC. (ECF No. 7.) 8 On October 20, 2025, the Court ordered Plaintiff to file its Motion for Default 9 Judgment against Defendant JAME LLC no later than November 3, 2025. (ECF No. 10.) 10 On November 5, 2025, Plaintiff filed the pending Motion for Default Judgment 11 against Defendant JAME LLC. (ECF No. 11.) 12 The Court must determine whether it may exercise subject matter jurisdiction over 13 this action before granting default judgment. “When entry of judgment is sought against a 14 party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, a district court has an affirmative duty 15 to look into its jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties.” In re Tuli, 172 16 F.3d 707, 712 (9th Cir. 1999). Diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity of 17 citizenship among the parties and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000. 28 U.S.C. 18 § 1332(a). For purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, “an LLC is a citizen of every 19 state of which its owners/members are citizens.” Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, 20 LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). 21 Here, Plaintiff contends that the Court may exercise diversity jurisdiction over this 22 action. (Compl. ¶ 2.) Plaintiff alleges that it is “a Massachusetts domestic for-profit 23 corporation,” and that Defendant JAME LLC is “a California limited liability company,” 24 of which Defendant Castro is the “sole member and sole manager.” Id. ¶¶ 4–6. Plaintiff 25 does not, however, allege the citizenship of Defendant Castro. Without allegations 26 27 1 ||regarding the citizenship of Defendant JAME LLC’s sole member, the Court is unable to 2 || determine its citizenship for the purposes of assessing diversity jurisdiction. 3 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff shall file a response to this Order within 4 || (30) days of its filing that provides sufficient information for the Court to determine the 5 || citizenship of Defendant J.A. Masters Events, LLC. If Plaintiff fails to do so, the Court will 6 || dismiss this action without prejudice. 7 8 Dated: March 1, 2026 :
10 United States District Court 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ; 28 3:25-cv-00229-WQH-VET