BMO Harris Bank N.A. v. Radium2 Capital, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:22-cv-08328
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In BMO Harris Bank N.A. v. Radium2 Capital, LLC, Judge Rochon ordered citizenship evidence because the complaint did not adequately establish diversity jurisdiction.
BMO Harris Bank N.A. must provide sworn allegations establishing the citizenship of both parties and serve the order on Radium2 Capital, LLC. The action could be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if complete diversity cannot be established.
What happened
BMO Harris Bank N.A. sued Radium2 Capital, LLC, claiming that federal court jurisdiction was based on the parties’ citizenship. The complaint alleged that BMO Harris is a national bank with its principal place of business in Illinois and that Troy Caruso, who resides in New York, owns more than 95% of Radium2.
The court ruled that these allegations did not properly establish the citizenship of either party for diversity-jurisdiction purposes. It ordered BMO Harris to file a letter supported by sworn affidavits identifying the citizenship of each party by October 15, 2022.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon also ordered BMO Harris to serve Radium2 with the order within two business days and file proof of service. The court stated that the case may be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if BMO Harris cannot provide a good-faith basis for complete diversity.
The detailed version
- BMO Harris Bank N.A. v. Radium2 Capital, LLC · No. 1:22-cv-08328
- Rochon
- Oct. 5, 2022
Background
BMO Harris Bank N.A. filed this action on September 29, 2022, against Radium2 Capital, LLC. BMO Harris alleged that the court had diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain disputes between citizens of different states. The complaint alleged that BMO Harris is a national bank with its principal place of business in Illinois. It also alleged that Troy Caruso, an individual residing in New York, owns more than 95% of Radium2’s membership interests and that the remaining members are not citizens or residents of Illinois.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that, for diversity-jurisdiction purposes, a national bank is a citizen only of the state identified as its main office in its articles of association. An LLC is a citizen of every state where any of its members is a citizen. The citizenship of every LLC member must be affirmatively alleged. The court also explained that an individual’s citizenship is based on domicile—the person’s true, fixed home and principal place of establishment, with an intent to return.
The court found that BMO Harris had not properly alleged the citizenship of either party. Alleging BMO Harris’s principal place of business and describing some information about Radium2’s members did not establish the required citizenship allegations.
Order
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered BMO Harris, by October 15, 2022, to file a letter supported by one or more sworn affidavits alleging the citizenship of each party. The court stated that, if BMO Harris could not allege a good-faith basis for complete diversity of citizenship, the action may be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice.
The court also ordered BMO Harris to serve Radium2 with a copy of the order within two business days and file proof of service on the docket. The order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.