Luna Aura LLC v. 3LAU Entertainment LLC

Background

Luna Aura LLC filed a complaint against 3LAU Entertainment, LLC, Blume LLC, and Justin Blau. The complaint stated that federal subject-matter jurisdiction was based on diversity of citizenship, which generally requires the parties to be citizens of different states and requires adequate allegations establishing each party’s citizenship.

Jurisdictional Deficiencies

The court explained that a limited liability company has the citizenship of its members. Therefore, a complaint relying on diversity jurisdiction must identify the citizenship of an LLC’s members, including the citizenship of members that are themselves limited liability companies. For corporate members, the complaint must allege the entity’s place of incorporation and principal place of business.

The complaint alleged that Luna Aura was an Arizona limited liability company with its principal place of business in Arizona, but it did not allege the citizenship of any of Luna Aura’s members. It alleged that the LLC defendants were Nevada limited liability companies with their domiciles and principal places of business in Nevada. It also alleged that Justin Blau was the principal officer who solely controlled and managed those companies, but it did not allege that he was the sole member of either company or identify the citizenship of any other members.

Order and Effect

Judge Valerie Caproni ordered Luna Aura to file an amended complaint curing these deficiencies no later than November 28, 2022. The order states that the complaint will be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if Luna Aura fails to do so. The order addressed the adequacy of the jurisdictional allegations and did not decide the underlying claims.