Silver v. Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP
- Denise Cote
- 1:22-cv-01593
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Silver v. Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP: Judge Broderick ordered citizenship proof to assess diversity jurisdiction.
Narisa Silver and all defendants were required to provide citizenship information so the court could determine whether it had diversity jurisdiction. The order warned that the action would be dismissed if jurisdiction could not be established.
What happened
In Silver v. Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP, Narisa Silver brought New York statutory and common-law claims against the law firm and other defendants. She alleged that she lived in New Jersey and that no defendant was a New Jersey citizen.
The defendants disputed that allegation and stated that one law-firm partner, Michielle B. Spector, was domiciled in New Jersey. Because the court must have complete diversity of citizenship to hear the case, it ordered the parties to provide more information rather than deciding the claims.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick ordered Silver to file a sworn statement about her citizenship and the defendants to identify all law-firm partners and provide information about their citizenship by May 20, 2022. He stated that the case must be dismissed if the court cannot determine that it has jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Silver v. Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP · No. 1:22-cv-01593
- Denise Cote
- May 6, 2022
Background
Narisa Silver filed a civil action asserting New York statutory and common-law claims against Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP, LACWKRR NY LLC, LACWKRR NY II LLC, LACWKRR LLP, Naephil Kwun, and Michael M. Yi. Silver alleged that she was a resident of New Jersey and lived in Princeton, New Jersey. She claimed that the court had diversity jurisdiction because she was a citizen of New Jersey and no defendant was a citizen of New Jersey.
The defendants denied the relevant jurisdictional allegation and stated that Michielle B. Spector, a partner of Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP, was domiciled in New Jersey. The parties also informed the court that the defendants did not object to venue. Silver had filed a discrimination charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but the parties represented that, for the time being, the case was proceeding as a diversity action.
Jurisdictional Issue
Federal district courts have limited authority to hear cases and must confirm their subject-matter jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction generally requires a dispute involving more than $75,000 between citizens of different states, with complete diversity between all plaintiffs and all defendants. The court explained that residence alone does not establish citizenship.
The court also explained that a limited liability partnership has the citizenship of each of its general and limited partners. Therefore, the citizenship of every relevant partner had to be identified before the court could determine whether complete diversity existed.
Order
The court ordered each party to file proof of citizenship by May 20, 2022. Silver was specifically ordered to file a sworn statement identifying her citizenship when the action began. The defendants were ordered to provide a list of all partners of Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP and all information needed to evaluate those partners’ citizenship.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick did not decide the underlying claims. He stated that if the information did not allow him to determine that the court had subject-matter jurisdiction, he would be required to dismiss the action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3).
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.