Sow v. William
- Subramanian
- 1:25-cv-01741
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sow v. William, Judge Subramanian ordered Sow to amend citizenship allegations by March 10 or face dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
Souleymane Sow, Bryant William, and Loomis Armored US LLC; the order requires Sow to correct the complaint’s citizenship allegations before the case can proceed on the stated jurisdictional basis.
What happened
In Sow v. William, Souleymane Sow sued Bryant William and Loomis Armored US LLC, relying on diversity of citizenship for federal jurisdiction.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of all its members, and that a person’s residence alone does not establish citizenship. The complaint did not provide the required information.
Judge Arun Subramanian ordered Sow to amend the complaint by March 10, 2025. If Sow could not truthfully allege complete diversity, the court stated that it would dismiss the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice.
The detailed version
- Sow v. William · No. 1:25-cv-01741
- Subramanian
- Mar. 5, 2025
Background
Souleymane Sow sued Bryant William and Loomis Armored US LLC. Sow invoked federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
Jurisdictional Defects
The court explained that a limited liability company is a citizen of every state of which its members are citizens. A complaint relying on diversity jurisdiction must therefore identify the citizenship of each person or entity that makes up the LLC, including the members of any member entities. The complaint did not provide that information for Loomis Armored US LLC.
The court also found that Sow alleged only William’s state of residence, not his state of citizenship. Residence alone is insufficient to establish citizenship for diversity jurisdiction; citizenship depends on a person’s domicile.
Order
Judge Arun Subramanian ordered Sow to amend the complaint on or before March 10, 2025, to allege the citizenship of each constituent person or entity comprising Loomis Armored US LLC and to properly allege the citizenship of both defendants. The court stated that if Sow could not truthfully allege complete diversity of citizenship by that date, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.