Kim v. Bryant

Background

Justina Joungsoon Kim sued Sonya Y. Bryant, Nenooch LLC, and William Noris. Kim did not identify the legal basis for federal jurisdiction. She sought the return of $15,880 in bank wire transfers that she alleged she made to the defendants between December 17, 2019, and January 9, 2020, after an alleged internet scam. The court had previously allowed Kim to proceed without prepaying filing fees.

Federal-question jurisdiction

Federal-question jurisdiction allows a federal court to hear claims arising under the Constitution, federal laws, or treaties. The court found that Kim alleged no facts suggesting that her claims arose under federal law. It therefore held that federal-question jurisdiction was unavailable.

Diversity jurisdiction

Diversity jurisdiction generally requires complete diversity of citizenship—meaning that no plaintiff shares a state of citizenship with any defendant—and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000. The court stated that Kim was a New York citizen and that she alleged at least one defendant was also a New York citizen. The court also found that Kim sought only $15,880, which did not exceed the jurisdictional amount. It therefore held that diversity jurisdiction was unavailable as well.

Ruling

The court dismissed the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3). The opinion does not state that the court decided whether Kim was entitled to recover the transferred money. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Kim permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.