Tradin Organics USA LLC v. The Ocean Bazar LLC
- Nathanael Cousins
- 5:24-cv-06087
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Tradin Organics v. Ocean Bazar, Magistrate Judge Cousins ordered plaintiff to show diversity jurisdiction by identifying its LLC members’ citizenship.
Tradin Organics USA LLC must provide information about the citizenship of the members of Tradin and The Ocean Bazar LLC to establish diversity jurisdiction. The order also concerns The Ocean Bazar LLC and SAF USA Co. as defendants, but it does not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
Tradin Organics USA LLC v. The Ocean Bazar LLC concerns a complaint alleging common-law claims based on contracts involving Tradin, The Ocean Bazar LLC, and SAF USA Co.
Tradin relied on diversity jurisdiction, which requires that the parties be citizens of different states and that more than $75,000 be at stake. The complaint identified states of incorporation and principal places of business, but Tradin and Ocean Bazar are limited liability companies whose citizenship depends on the citizenship of their members.
The court ordered Tradin to provide written information establishing diversity jurisdiction by September 26, 2024. Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins did not decide the underlying contract claims in this order.
The detailed version
- Tradin Organics USA LLC v. The Ocean Bazar LLC · No. 5:24-cv-06087
- Nathanael Cousins
- Aug. 29, 2024
Background
Tradin Organics USA LLC filed a complaint on August 28, 2024, against The Ocean Bazar LLC and SAF USA Co. The complaint asserts common-law claims arising from alleged contracts between Tradin and each defendant.
Jurisdiction issue
The complaint relies on diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity jurisdiction requires the parties to be citizens of different states and the amount in controversy to exceed $75,000. For a corporation, citizenship is based on its state of incorporation and its principal place of business. For a limited liability company, citizenship depends on the citizenship of each member.
The complaint alleged the state of incorporation and principal place of business for each party, but it did not identify the citizenship of the members of Tradin or The Ocean Bazar LLC. The court therefore found that the complaint did not provide enough information to establish diversity jurisdiction.
Order
The court ordered Tradin to show cause in writing by September 26, 2024, by providing sufficient information to establish diversity jurisdiction. The order did not decide the contract claims or state that the case was dismissed. It was signed by Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.