Marsh USA Inc. v. Machua Millett
- Jesse Furman
- 1:22-cv-06656
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Marsh USA Inc. v. Machua Millett, Judge Furman ordered Marsh to amend its citizenship allegations or face dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
Marsh USA Inc. must amend its complaint to provide the required citizenship allegations. Michael Machua Millett and Northeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC are affected because the case could be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if complete diversity cannot be truthfully alleged.
What happened
Marsh USA Inc. sued Michael Machua Millett and Northeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC, claiming that the court could hear the case because the parties were citizens of different states. Marsh alleged its own citizenship and the LLC’s principal place of business, but did not identify the LLC’s members and their citizenships.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship comes from the citizenship of all its members, not its principal place of business. It also found that Marsh alleged only Michael Machua Millett’s residential address, rather than his state of citizenship. The court ordered Marsh to amend the complaint by September 21, 2022, to provide the required information. If Marsh could not truthfully allege complete diversity, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice.
Judge Jesse M. Furman issued the order on September 15, 2022. The court did not decide the underlying claims; it addressed only whether the complaint adequately alleged federal diversity jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Marsh USA Inc. v. Machua Millett · No. 1:22-cv-06656
- Jesse Furman
- Sept. 15, 2022
Background
Marsh USA Inc. brought the action against Michael Machua Millett and Northeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC, invoking federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Marsh alleged that it was a citizen of Delaware and New York. It alleged that the Defendant LLC had its principal place of business in Missouri.
The opinion notes that Marsh incorrectly described itself in the complaint as a limited liability company. Its corporate disclosure statement confirmed that it is a corporation.
Jurisdictional Deficiencies
The court explained that an LLC is considered a citizen of every state of which its members are citizens. Therefore, a complaint relying on diversity jurisdiction must identify the citizenship of each person or entity comprising the LLC, including the citizenship information for any entities that are members of the LLC. Alleging the LLC’s principal place of business is not enough.
The complaint also alleged only Michael Machua Millett’s residential address. For diversity jurisdiction, the complaint had to allege his state of citizenship.
Order
The court ordered Marsh to amend its complaint on or before September 21, 2022, to allege the citizenship of each constituent person or entity comprising Northeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC, as well as the citizenship of all individual parties. The court stated that if Marsh could not truthfully allege complete diversity of citizenship by that date, the complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice to either party.
The order addressed the adequacy of the jurisdictional allegations and did not decide the merits of Marsh’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.