Thor Equities, LLC v. Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc.
- Jennifer Rochon
- 1:22-cv-07790
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Thor Equities v. Hiscox, Judge Jennifer L. Rochon remanded the case because Hiscox could not establish complete diversity jurisdiction.
Thor Equities, LLC and the other plaintiff limited liability companies, Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc., and the action that was returned to the Supreme Court of New York, New York County.
What happened
Thor Equities, LLC and other plaintiffs sued Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc. in New York state court. Hiscox moved the case to federal court, claiming the parties were citizens of different states.
The federal court gave Hiscox multiple opportunities to identify the citizenship of the members of the plaintiff limited liability companies and allowed limited discovery. Hiscox ultimately said it could not determine the citizenship of every member of the limited liability companies connected to one plaintiff.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ruled that the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because complete diversity had not been established. She ordered the case sent back to the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, closed open motions, and terminated the federal case.
The detailed version
- Thor Equities, LLC v. Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-07790
- Jennifer L. Rochon
- Oct. 26, 2022
Background
Hiscox removed this action from the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 12, 2022. Hiscox relied on diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain cases involving parties from different states.
The Court first determined that Hiscox's removal notice did not properly allege the citizenship of all parties. On September 15, 2022, the Court ordered Hiscox to properly allege complete diversity—the requirement that no plaintiff and no defendant be citizens of the same state. On October 5, 2022, the Court granted Hiscox's request for limited jurisdictional discovery and gave it until October 19, 2022, to file an amended removal notice.
Jurisdictional Issue
The opinion explains that a limited liability company is a citizen of every state where its members are citizens. The plaintiffs were all limited liability companies. Hiscox identified Madison-Thor Manager LLC as including Madison 212 Fifth Avenue Partners LLC as a member. Hiscox identified at least 17 members of 212 Fifth Avenue LLC, including 12 individuals and five limited liability companies.
After discovery and several opportunities to amend its removal notice, Hiscox stated that it still could not determine the citizenship of every member of every limited liability company that was a member of 212 Fifth Avenue LLC. The Court concluded that the record therefore lacked the information necessary to establish subject-matter jurisdiction.
Ruling
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered that the action be REMANDED to the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, where it began. The Clerk of Court was directed to close any open motions and terminate the federal case. The opinion did not reach the underlying dispute between the parties.
Classification Basis
This is a procedural order because the Court remanded the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without deciding the underlying legal claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.