71 Fifth Ground Lessor LLC v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
- Lewis Liman
- 1:20-cv-10775
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In 71 Fifth Ground Lessor v. Liberty Mutual, Judge Liman ordered more information about diversity jurisdiction by January 8, 2021.
The plaintiffs were directed to provide additional information about the parties’ citizenship so the court could assess diversity jurisdiction; the named defendants were among the parties whose citizenship information was at issue.
What happened
71 Fifth Ground Lessor LLC and Citizens Insurance Company of America sued Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. and others, invoking federal diversity jurisdiction.
The complaint did not adequately identify the citizenship of the limited-liability companies, their members, or the insurance-company parties, so the court could not determine whether diversity jurisdiction was properly pleaded.
Judge Lewis J. Liman directed the plaintiffs to file a letter by January 8, 2021, showing whether diversity jurisdiction was properly pleaded. The order did not decide the underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- 71 Fifth Ground Lessor LLC v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. · No. 1:20-cv-10775
- Lewis Liman
- Dec. 30, 2020
Background
71 Fifth Ground Lessor LLC and Citizens Insurance Company of America filed the action against Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. and other defendants. The complaint relied on diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain disputes between parties who are citizens of different states.
Jurisdictional problem
The complaint did not state the citizenship of 71 Fifth Ground Lessor LLC or its members. It also did not state the citizenship of defendants MC 71 Fifth Avenue Realty LLC, Lubert-Adler Management Company, L.P., or Samco Properties, L.L.C., or their members. The court noted that a limited-liability company has the citizenship of each member and that a limited partnership has the citizenship of each general and limited partner for diversity purposes.
The complaint also did not provide enough information for the court to determine whether Citizens Insurance Company of America and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. were diverse parties. The complaint alleged that both were insurance companies authorized to do business in New York and maintaining an office in Massachusetts, but the court found that allegation insufficient to assess diversity.
Order
Judge Lewis J. Liman directed the plaintiff to file a letter by January 8, 2021, demonstrating whether diversity jurisdiction was properly pleaded. The opinion does not state that the action was dismissed or otherwise decide the merits of the dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.