Chicon-Deleon v. Trans Continental Trucking LLC
- Jesse Furman
- 1:20-cv-05643
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Chicon-Deleon v. Trans Continental, Judge Furman ordered more ownership-citizenship details or remand to state court.
The defendants had to provide additional information about Trans Continental Trucking LLC’s members and their citizenship, serve the order, and potentially face remand to state court. The plaintiff’s counsel had to file a notice of appearance after being served.
What happened
Chicon-Deleon v. Trans Continental Trucking LLC and Yashpal Amarsingh began in New York state court and was moved to federal court by the defendants. They 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. The defendants’ filing identified Trans Continental’s state of incorporation and principal place of business but did not identify its members or their citizenship.
Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered the defendants to amend their filing by July 29, 2020, to provide that information. If they could not truthfully show that all parties were citizens of different states, the case would be returned to New York state court. The order also required service on the plaintiff and a notice of appearance by the plaintiff’s counsel.
The detailed version
- Chicon-Deleon v. Trans Continental Trucking LLC · No. 1:20-cv-05643
- Jesse Furman
- July 22, 2020
Background
The defendants removed the action from the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They asserted that federal jurisdiction existed under the diversity-of-citizenship statute because they were citizens of North Carolina and the plaintiff was a citizen of New York.
Court’s reasoning
The court explained that an LLC is treated as a citizen of every state in which its members are citizens. Therefore, a removal filing based on diversity must identify the LLC’s members and state the citizenship of each individual or entity member. For any corporate member, the filing must state the corporation’s state of incorporation and principal place of business.
The defendants’ Notice of Removal stated Trans Continental’s principal place of business and state of incorporation, but it did not identify the LLC’s members or allege their citizenship. The opinion did not decide the merits of the underlying dispute.
Order
The court ordered the defendants to amend the Notice of Removal by July 29, 2020, to allege the citizenship of each person or entity comprising Trans Continental, including the required information for any corporate member. If the defendants could not truthfully allege complete diversity of citizenship by that date, the action would be remanded to the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County, without further notice.
The defendants also had to serve the plaintiff with the order within two business days and file proof of service. The plaintiff’s counsel had to file a notice of appearance within two business days after service.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.