The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided that for the purposes of federal diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company (“LLC”), it is a citizen of the state of which its members are citizens. In Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Company ___ F.3d ____ (Fifth Cir. 2008) 2008 WL 41 94538 CAJ(La) 2008, the District Court held that 28 U.S.C. ? 1332 (c), which governs citizenship for corporations, should be interpreted to include LLC’s because LLC’s share the characteristics of a corporation for the purposes of a diversity analysis. The Court of Appeals disagreed with the lower court’s dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on a lack of diversity. The Court of Appeals reviewed subject matter jurisdiction de novo as a question of law and pointed out that neither the Supreme Court nor the Fifth Circuit had previously addressed the question. The Court noted that all federal appellate courts that have addressed the issue have reached the same conclusion, i.e. that the citizenship of limited partnerships or other unincorporated association or entities is determined by the citizenship of all of its members. The Court held,
“Supreme Court precedent, case law from other circuits, and the statutory language of both Section 1332 and Louisiana Revised Statutes ? 12:1301(a)(10) overwhelmingly support the position that a LLC should not be treated as a corporation for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. Rather, the citizenship of a LLC is determined by the citizenship of all of its members. Under this approach, Grey Wolf is a citizen of Nevada and Texas, not Louisiana, resulting in complete diversity. Accordingly, the district court’s dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is reversed.