Series 2020A of Nahla Capital LLC v. Brody

Background

The court had previously ordered Series 2020A of Nahla Capital LLC to submit a letter addressing, among other things, its citizenship, the citizenship of Nahla Capital LLC, and the citizenship of other series limited liability companies within Nahla Capital LLC. The plaintiff responded that complete diversity was lacking between it and Alyssa Soto Brody. The plaintiff specifically stated that it had a limited liability company as a member and that this member, in turn, had a natural-person member who was a citizen of Florida.

Brody responded that she was entitled to documentation showing the identity of the individual member whose citizenship allegedly defeated diversity jurisdiction.

Court’s analysis

The court emphasized that it must confirm its subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning its legal authority to hear the case. It explained that jurisdiction is required before the federal court may exercise its judicial power and that the jurisdictional issue generally must be resolved before the merits.

To allow the court and Brody to evaluate whether the plaintiff’s corporate structure properly attributed a Florida citizenship to the plaintiff for diversity-jurisdiction purposes, the court required additional documentation. The opinion did not resolve whether diversity jurisdiction existed.

Order

The court ordered the plaintiff to file, by March 30, 2023, documentation sufficient to demonstrate its corporate structure and identify by name the individual alleged to be a Florida citizen. The court directed that the information be filed on the public docket. If good cause existed to redact the individual’s name, the plaintiff could seek permission from the court to do so. The order was signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on March 28, 2023.