Bierd v. One Dollar Zone
- Rochon
- 1:26-cv-06032
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bierd v. One Dollar Zone, Judge Rochon ordered the defendant to clarify its LLC citizenship or face remand to state court.
ODZ Management LLC s/h/a One Dollar Zone must provide additional citizenship information to support removal. Jose Patricio Bierd and the state-court action may be affected if the defendant cannot establish complete diversity, because the case will then be remanded to state court.
What happened
Jose Patricio Bierd v. One Dollar Zone began in New York state court and was moved to federal court by ODZ Management LLC, doing business as One Dollar Zone. The defendant said federal jurisdiction existed because the parties were citizens of different states.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of each of its members. Because the defendant’s filing did not identify those members and their citizenship, the court ordered the defendant to amend its filing by July 24, 2026.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon also ordered the defendant to serve the order on the plaintiff within two business days and required the plaintiff’s lawyer to file a notice of appearance within two business days after service. If the defendant cannot truthfully show complete diversity, the case will be sent back to the New York Supreme Court in Bronx County without further notice.
The detailed version
- Bierd v. One Dollar Zone · No. 1:26-cv-06032
- Rochon
- July 17, 2026
Background
The action was removed from the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County, on July 16, 2026. The removing defendant is identified as ODZ Management LLC s/h/a One Dollar Zone. The defendant asserted that federal jurisdiction was proper under the diversity-of-citizenship statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1332. It alleged that the defendant was a citizen of New Jersey and that Jose Patricio Bierd was a citizen of New York.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that a limited liability company is a citizen of every state where its members are citizens. A notice of removal based on diversity jurisdiction must therefore identify the citizenship of each individual member and, for any corporate member, the corporation’s state of incorporation and principal place of business. The defendant’s Notice of Removal did not provide that information.
Order
The court ordered the defendant to amend its Notice of Removal by July 24, 2026, to allege the citizenship of every person or entity comprising the defendant LLC, including the required information for any corporate entity member. The court stated that if the defendant cannot truthfully allege complete diversity of citizenship by that date, the action will be remanded to the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County, without further notice.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon also directed the defendant to serve the plaintiff with the order within two business days and file proof of service on the docket. The plaintiff’s counsel must file a notice of appearance within two business days after that service.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.