Ricci v. FVP Investments, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:25-cv-05542
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ricci v. FVP Investments, Judge Rochon ordered amended citizenship allegations by July 14 or warned the complaint will be dismissed.
Joseph Ricci must amend the complaint to provide the required citizenship allegations by July 14, 2025. FVP Investments, LLC is affected because the court requires information about all of its members; the complaint may be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction if complete diversity cannot be truthfully alleged.
What happened
In Ricci v. FVP Investments, LLC, Joseph Ricci sued FVP Investments, LLC, claiming federal jurisdiction because the parties were citizens of different states. The complaint described Ricci and one LLC member as residents but did not properly allege their citizenship.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of all its members. The complaint identified only the LLC’s managing member, Keith Lee, and did not say whether he was the only member or identify any other members. It also alleged residence rather than citizenship.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered Ricci to amend the complaint by July 14, 2025, to allege the citizenship of every person or entity making up the LLC and the citizenship of all individual parties. The court stated that if Ricci could not truthfully allege complete diversity by then, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further notice.
The detailed version
- Ricci v. FVP Investments, LLC · No. 1:25-cv-05542
- Rochon
- July 7, 2025
Background
Joseph Ricci brought the action against FVP Investments, LLC, invoking diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). The complaint alleged that Ricci was a Rhode Island resident. It alleged that FVP Investments, LLC, was incorporated in Delaware, had its principal place of business in New York, and had a managing member, Keith Lee, who was a New York resident.
Jurisdictional Problem
The court explained that a limited liability company is a citizen of every state in which its members are citizens. A complaint relying on diversity jurisdiction therefore must identify the citizenship of each individual or entity that makes up the LLC, including the members of any entity that is itself an LLC. The complaint did not affirmatively allege that FVP Investments, LLC, was a single-member LLC or identify any other members, if they existed. It also alleged only the residence of Ricci and Lee, rather than their citizenship. The court did not decide the underlying legal claims.
Order
The court ordered Ricci to amend the complaint by July 14, 2025, to allege the citizenship of each person or entity comprising FVP Investments, LLC, and the citizenship of all individual parties. The court stated that if Ricci could not truthfully allege complete diversity by that date, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further notice to either party.
Practical Effect
The action was not dismissed in this order. Ricci was given a deadline to correct the jurisdictional allegations, with dismissal threatened if he could not truthfully establish complete diversity.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.