TBlue Enterprises, Inc. v. Assisted Living Finders, LLC
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-00311
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In TBlue Enterprises v. Assisted Living Finders, Judge Engelmayer ordered an amended complaint to establish LLC-member citizenship for diversity jurisdiction.
TBlue Enterprises must provide the citizenship information for all members of Assisted Living Finders, LLC by April 15, 2022. The case can proceed in federal court only if the amended complaint truthfully establishes complete diversity of citizenship.
What happened
TBlue Enterprises, Inc. sued Assisted Living Finders, LLC, relying only on diversity of citizenship for federal jurisdiction. The complaint said Assisted Living Finders was organized and had its main office in Florida, but it did not identify the citizenship of the LLC’s members.
The court explained that an LLC has the citizenship of each of its members. Without that information, the court could not determine whether the parties were completely diverse and therefore whether federal jurisdiction existed.
Judge Paul Engelmayer granted TBlue Enterprises permission to amend its complaint by April 15, 2022, to provide the required citizenship information. The court stated that if TBlue could not truthfully allege complete diversity, the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- TBlue Enterprises, Inc. v. Assisted Living Finders, LLC · No. 1:22-cv-00311
- Paul Engelmayer
- Apr. 11, 2022
Background
TBlue Enterprises, Inc. filed the complaint on January 12, 2022. The complaint identified diversity of citizenship as the sole basis for federal jurisdiction. It alleged that Assisted Living Finders, LLC does business as Care Patrol Gulf Coast, is organized under Florida law, and has its principal place of business in Florida.
Jurisdictional issue
The court observed that Assisted Living Finders is a limited liability company. For diversity-jurisdiction purposes, an LLC has the citizenship of each of its members. The complaint did not allege the citizenship of those members. If any member is a natural person, the amended complaint must state that person’s citizenship. If any member is a corporation or other corporate entity, the amended complaint must state its place of incorporation and principal place of business.
Ruling
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), the court granted TBlue Enterprises leave to amend the complaint by April 15, 2022. The amendment must allege the citizenship of all members of Assisted Living Finders so the court can determine whether complete diversity exists. The court stated that if TBlue Enterprises cannot truthfully allege complete diversity, the complaint will be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. If the amended complaint establishes complete diversity, the court will issue a case-management plan and refer the parties to the district’s mediation program. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer did not dismiss the complaint in this order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.