Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC v. Citibank, N.A
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-00335
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Absolute Resolutions v. Citibank, Judge Engelmayer ordered citizenship allegations amended or the complaint dismissed without prejudice.
Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC was required to provide additional allegations about its members’ citizenship; Citibank, N.A. was the defendant in the action. The opinion’s jurisdictional requirement could determine whether the federal case proceeds.
What happened
Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC sued Citibank, N.A., and said federal jurisdiction was based on the parties’ diverse citizenship. The court explained that an LLC must identify the citizenship of every member, including required information for any corporate members.
The court gave Absolute until February 1, 2022, to amend its complaint to provide those allegations. The opinion did not decide the underlying dispute between Absolute and Citibank.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer stated that if Absolute could not truthfully allege complete diversity, the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC v. Citibank, N.A · No. 1:22-cv-00335
- Paul Engelmayer
- Jan. 19, 2022
Background
Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC sued Citibank, N.A. The complaint invoked federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
Jurisdictional issue
The court explained that, for diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members. Therefore, if Absolute is an LLC, its complaint must identify the citizenship of every member. For members who are natural persons, it must allege their citizenship. For corporate members, it must allege the place of incorporation and principal place of business.
Order
The court ordered Absolute to amend its complaint by February 1, 2022, to allege the citizenship of each person or entity that makes up the LLC. The court stated that if Absolute could not truthfully allege complete diversity by that date, the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court did not rule on the underlying claims against Citibank.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.