Batistela v. Samba Holdings S.A.R.L. Qintess Capital e Participações Ltda.

Background

Plaintiffs Gilmar Batistela and Resource International Holdings CV brought the action against Samba Holdings S.A.R.L. Qintess Capital e Participações Ltda., Nana Baffour-Gyewu, and Frank Asante-Kissi. The plaintiffs invoked diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain cases involving parties who are citizens of different states or countries. The opinion states that Resource International Holdings CV is a Dutch limited liability company and that Qintess Capital e Participações Ltda. appears to be a Brazilian limited liability company.

Jurisdictional Deficiency

For diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members. A complaint therefore must identify the citizenship of the individuals and entities that make up each limited liability company, including the members of any member limited liability companies. The court found that the complaint did not provide this information. It also found that the complaint gave only the individual defendants’ business addresses, rather than their citizenship, which is what diversity jurisdiction requires.

Order

The court ordered the plaintiffs to amend the complaint by October 20, 2025, to allege the citizenship of every person or entity comprising the limited liability company parties and the citizenship of all individual parties. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon stated that if the plaintiffs 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 itself directed amendment and did not dismiss the complaint at that time.