Zweibach v. 2211 Third Avenue Mazal Holdings, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:22-cv-07031
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Zweibach v. Mazal Holdings, Judge Rochon ordered proof of the LLC members’ citizenship because diversity jurisdiction was inadequately alleged.
The order directly affects Amichai Zweibach, who must provide evidence of the citizenship of each member of 2211 Third Avenue Mazal Holdings, LLC. It also affects the defendant and the case’s future because the court stated that the action may be dismissed if complete diversity cannot be supported.
What happened
In Zweibach v. 2211 Third Avenue Mazal Holdings, LLC, Amichai Zweibach brought a case asserting that federal jurisdiction existed because the parties were citizens of different places. He alleged that he was a citizen of Israel and that the defendant was a Delaware corporation with a New York principal place of business.
The court explained that an LLC’s citizenship depends on the citizenship of each of its members, not its state of incorporation or principal place of business. The complaint did not identify the citizenship of the defendant’s members.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered Zweibach to submit evidence of each member’s citizenship by the initial pretrial conference. The court stated that the action may be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if he cannot allege a good-faith basis for complete diversity. The court also ordered that the conference proceed by video.
The detailed version
- Zweibach v. 2211 Third Avenue Mazal Holdings, LLC · No. 1:22-cv-07031
- Rochon
- Nov. 11, 2022
Background
Amichai Zweibach commenced the action on August 17, 2022. The complaint asserted federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Zweibach alleged that he is a citizen of Israel. He alleged that the remaining defendant, 2211 Third Avenue Mazal Holdings, LLC, “is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business” in New York.
Jurisdictional issue
The court explained that, for diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company is a citizen of every state in which any of its members is a citizen. The LLC’s place of incorporation and principal place of business are not relevant to that analysis. Because Zweibach had not alleged the citizenship of the defendant’s members, the court required additional information.
Order
The court ordered Zweibach to submit evidence of the citizenship of each defendant member by the November 15, 2022 initial pretrial conference. It stated that the action may be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if Zweibach is unable to allege a good-faith basis for complete diversity. The court also ordered that the initial pretrial conference be held by video conference and required the parties to file a joint letter beforehand. The opinion does not state that the action was dismissed.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.