63 West 104th Street Owner LLC v. James River Insurance Company
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-05935
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In 63 West 104th Street Owner LLC v. James River, Judge Swain ordered plaintiffs to clarify diversity jurisdiction before August 14, 2020.
63 West 104th Street Owner LLC and 1 Oak Contracting LLC were required to supplement their complaint and serve the supplement by August 14, 2020, or explain why the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
What happened
In 63 West 104th Street Owner LLC v. James River Insurance Company, two plaintiffs sued James River Insurance Company and claimed federal jurisdiction based on the parties’ different citizenships. The complaint did not identify the citizenship of the members of either limited liability company.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of its members and that federal courts must have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a case. The court had not yet dismissed the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the plaintiffs to file and serve a supplement to the complaint by August 14, 2020, providing facts sufficient to establish jurisdiction, or to explain in writing why the case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- 63 West 104th Street Owner LLC v. James River Insurance Company · No. 1:20-cv-05935
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 3, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs, 63 West 104th Street Owner LLC and 1 Oak Contracting LLC, brought this action against James River Insurance Company. The complaint asserted federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
Jurisdictional Deficiency
The court reviewed the complaint to determine whether it adequately established federal jurisdiction. It found that the complaint did not allege facts sufficient to determine the citizenship of the members of either plaintiff limited liability company. The court explained that, for diversity-jurisdiction purposes, the citizenship of a business entity other than a corporation is determined by the citizenship of its members.
Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the plaintiffs, by August 14, 2020, to file and serve a supplement to the complaint containing allegations sufficient to demonstrate a basis for subject-matter jurisdiction. Alternatively, the plaintiffs had to show cause in writing—explain why—the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.