Beirne Wealth Consulting Services, LLC v. Englebert
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:19-cv-07936
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Beirne Wealth Consulting v. Englebert, Judge Ramos ordered Beirne to disclose its members’ citizenship to verify diversity jurisdiction.
Beirne Wealth Consulting Services, LLC, which was ordered to provide information about its members and their citizenship; the order also concerns whether the federal court can exercise jurisdiction over the case.
What happened
In Beirne Wealth Consulting Services, LLC v. Englebert, the court examined whether it had diversity jurisdiction, which requires all parties to be citizens of different states. The court explained that a limited liability company’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of its members, including members of any other unincorporated entities in the ownership chain.
Beirne’s complaint did not identify its members or their citizenship, and it did not allege a federal legal claim. Because of that missing information, the court could not confirm that diversity jurisdiction existed.
Judge Ramos ordered Beirne to submit a declaration by January 31, 2020, at noon, identifying its members and their citizenship, and tracing the membership and citizenship of any entities among its members. The opinion did not dismiss the case or otherwise resolve the jurisdictional issue.
The detailed version
- Beirne Wealth Consulting Services, LLC v. Englebert · No. 1:19-cv-07936
- Edgardo Ramos
- Jan. 23, 2020
Background
The case was brought in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. The court stated that it has an independent duty to ensure that subject-matter jurisdiction exists. Diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity, meaning that all parties must be citizens of different states.
Jurisdictional Analysis
The court explained that a limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members. If an LLC member is itself an LLC, partnership, or other unincorporated association, the court must trace citizenship through that entity’s members as well.
Beirne Wealth Consulting Services, LLC’s complaint did not allege the citizenship of its members. The complaint also did not allege a federal cause of action. Based on the information before it, the court therefore could not confirm the basis for federal jurisdiction.
Order
The court ordered Beirne to submit a declaration by Friday, January 31, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. The declaration must identify Beirne’s members and their citizenship. For any member that is an LLC, partnership, or other unincorporated association, Beirne must also identify that entity’s members and their citizenship. Judge Edgardo Ramos signed the order. The opinion did not state that the case was dismissed or otherwise decide the jurisdictional question.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.