Lee v. Thursday Boot Company
- Gregory Woods
- 1:25-cv-04393
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lee v. Thursday Boot Company, Judge Rochon ordered Lee to amend his complaint to allege the company’s citizenship or face dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
Joseph Lee, the proposed class he seeks to represent, and Thursday Boot Company are affected. Lee must provide additional jurisdictional information by June 4, 2025, or the complaint will be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
What happened
Joseph Lee sued Thursday Boot Company on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, relying on the Class Action Fairness Act for federal jurisdiction. He alleged that he is a New Jersey citizen and that Thursday Boot Company is headquartered in New York.
Judge Rochon found that the complaint did not provide enough information to determine Thursday Boot Company’s citizenship. It did not say whether the company is a corporation, limited liability company, or another type of entity, and it did not identify the company’s state of incorporation.
The court ordered Lee to amend the complaint by June 4, 2025, to properly allege the company’s citizenship. Judge Rochon stated that if Lee could not truthfully do so, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Lee v. Thursday Boot Company · No. 1:25-cv-04393
- Gregory Woods
- May 28, 2025
Background
Joseph Lee brought a proposed class action against Thursday Boot Company. He invoked federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. Lee alleged that he is a citizen of New Jersey and that Thursday Boot Company is headquartered in New York.
Jurisdictional Deficiency
For federal diversity jurisdiction, a corporation is generally a citizen of its state of incorporation and the state where its principal place of business is located. A limited liability company is a citizen of every state in which any of its members is a citizen.
The court held that Lee had not established even the minimal diversity required under the Class Action Fairness Act. The complaint did not identify whether Thursday Boot Company is a corporation, limited liability company, or another type of entity. It also did not identify the company’s state of incorporation, assuming the company is a corporation. The allegation that the company is headquartered in New York was therefore insufficient to establish its citizenship.
Order
The court ordered Lee to amend his complaint by June 4, 2025, to properly allege Thursday Boot Company’s citizenship. The court stated that if Lee could not truthfully amend the complaint to allege that information, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice. Judge Rochon did not decide the merits of Lee’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.