Dfinity USA Research LLC v. Bravick
- Edward Davila
- 5:22-cv-03732
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In DFINITY USA Research LLC v. Bravick, Judge Cousins ordered Bravick to explain why the case should not return to state court for lack of jurisdiction.
The order affects DFINITY USA Research LLC and Eric Bravick by requiring Bravick to address whether federal diversity jurisdiction exists and whether the case should return to state court.
What happened
Eric Bravick removed DFINITY USA Research LLC’s case to federal court, claiming the parties were citizens of different states. He identified DFINITY as a California citizen and himself as a Michigan citizen.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of its owners or members, not its place of incorporation. Bravick had not provided DFINITY’s owners’ or members’ citizenship, so he had not shown the complete diversity required for federal jurisdiction.
In DFINITY USA Research LLC v. Bravick, Judge Nathanael M. Cousins ordered Bravick to show in writing by July 13, 2022, why the case should not be remanded to state court. The order did not itself remand the case.
The detailed version
- Dfinity USA Research LLC v. Bravick · No. 5:22-cv-03732
- Edward Davila
- June 28, 2022
Background
Defendant Eric Bravick removed the case to federal court. He alleged that federal diversity jurisdiction existed because DFINITY USA Research LLC was a citizen of California and Bravick was a citizen of Michigan.
Jurisdictional issue
Federal diversity jurisdiction generally requires complete diversity, meaning that no plaintiff shares state citizenship with any defendant. The court explained that the citizenship rules for a limited liability company differ from those for a corporation. An LLC is a citizen of every state where its owners or members are citizens; its place of incorporation is not relevant to determining citizenship.
The court held that Bravick had neither pleaded nor proved DFINITY’s citizenship because he had not identified the citizenship of its owners or members. As a result, he had not pleaded or proved complete diversity.
Order
The court ordered Bravick to show cause in writing by July 13, 2022, why the case should not be remanded to state court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The opinion does not state that the court ultimately remanded the case. The order was signed by United States Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.