S.A.S.U. Ateliers Jean Nouvel v. 45 Park Place Partners, LLC

Background

S.A.S.U. Ateliers Jean Nouvel brought the action against 45 Park Place Partners, LLC. 45 Park Place raised a possible subject-matter jurisdiction problem under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), the statute governing federal jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship. It argued that there might not be complete diversity because some of its members were foreign citizens, like S.A.S.U.

45 Park Place requested permission to file a motion to dismiss. S.A.S.U. requested limited discovery into 45 Park Place’s membership and permission to amend its complaint. S.A.S.U. also agreed to voluntarily dismiss 45 Park Place if some of its members were foreign citizens.

Court’s reasoning

The Court concluded that judicial efficiency favored limited jurisdictional discovery and an amended complaint instead of requiring S.A.S.U. to bring a separate, nearly identical action against new defendants or requiring the parties to proceed directly to a motion to dismiss. Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), the Court stated that permission to amend should generally be given when justice requires it. The Court found the reasons for amendment compelling, noting that the additional discovery would be minimal, would not significantly delay the case, which remained at an early stage, and was not shown to result from bad faith. The Court also found that 45 Park Place would not be prejudiced.

Order

The Court ordered the parties to complete any jurisdictional discovery by December 28, 2020. It ordered S.A.S.U. to file an amended complaint by January 5, 2021. 45 Park Place’s request for permission to move to dismiss was denied. The opinion did not decide whether the court ultimately had subject-matter jurisdiction or resolve the underlying claims.