C N Jewellers LLC v. PNG Jewelers Inc.
- Nathanael Cousins
- 5:20-cv-06997
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In C N Jewellers LLC v. PNG Jewelers Inc., Judge Cousins ordered plaintiffs to explain why the case should not be dismissed for incomplete diversity-jurisdiction allegations.
C N Jewellers LLC and Nilesh Soni, who were required to explain why their case against PNG Jewelers Inc. should not be dismissed for failing to properly allege the LLC's citizenship.
What happened
C N Jewellers LLC and Nilesh Soni sued PNG Jewelers Inc. The plaintiffs claimed that federal court jurisdiction existed because the parties were citizens of different states.
The court explained that an LLC's citizenship depends on the citizenship of all its members, not the corporation-based test the plaintiffs used. The opinion does not list the LLC's members or their citizenship.
Judge Cousins ordered the plaintiffs to explain in writing by March 2, 2021, why the case should not be dismissed. PNG Jewelers Inc.'s reply was due March 6, 2021; the order did not itself dismiss the case.
The detailed version
- C N Jewellers LLC v. PNG Jewelers Inc. · No. 5:20-cv-06997
- Nathanael Cousins
- Feb. 23, 2021
Background
C N Jewellers LLC and Nilesh Soni filed a complaint against PNG Jewelers Inc. on October 7, 2020. The plaintiffs alleged that the court had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity jurisdiction allows a federal court to hear certain disputes involving parties who are citizens of different states, subject to other requirements.
Jurisdictional issue
The court stated that the plaintiffs incorrectly applied the citizenship test for a corporation to C N Jewellers LLC. For diversity-jurisdiction purposes, an LLC is treated like a partnership. The plaintiffs therefore needed to identify the citizenship of every member of C N Jewellers LLC and then evaluate whether diversity jurisdiction existed.
Order
The court ordered the plaintiffs to show cause—in other words, to explain in writing—why the case should not be dismissed. Their written response was due March 2, 2021, and PNG Jewelers Inc.'s reply was due March 6, 2021. The opinion is an order to show cause; it does not state that the case was dismissed.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.