Mezrow v. Hotel Hayden
- Jesse Furman
- 1:23-cv-03755
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Mezrow v. Hotel Hayden, Judge Furman dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Max Mezrow did not establish diversity jurisdiction.
Max Mezrow and the defendants, including Hotel Hayden, Fortuna Realty, LLC, and Fortuna Hotel Collection; the complaint was dismissed and the case was closed.
What happened
In Mezrow v. Hotel Hayden, Max Mezrow sued Hotel Hayden and other defendants in federal court, relying on diversity of citizenship as the basis for jurisdiction.
The court had directed Mezrow to amend his complaint three times, but he still did not allege the citizenship of every party. He did not identify the citizenship of each member of Fortuna Realty, LLC, and did not mention the citizenship of Fortuna Hotel Collection.
Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed the complaint without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also ruled that pending motions were moot, canceled conferences, and directed the clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Mezrow v. Hotel Hayden · No. 1:23-cv-03755
- Jesse Furman
- May 25, 2023
Background
Max Mezrow brought the case against Hotel Hayden and other defendants. The opinion states that he relied on diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, which allows certain disputes involving citizens of different states to be heard in federal court.
The court directed Mezrow to amend his complaint three times. Despite those amendments, he did not affirmatively plead the citizenship of every party. In particular, he did not identify the citizenship of each member of Defendant Fortuna Realty, LLC, as required to establish an LLC’s citizenship. He also did not mention the citizenship of Defendant Fortuna Hotel Collection.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that subject-matter jurisdiction—the court’s legal authority to hear a case—cannot be waived. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3), the court must dismiss an action whenever it determines that subject-matter jurisdiction is lacking.
The court had twice warned Mezrow that the case would be dismissed if he failed to file an amended complaint establishing federal jurisdiction. Because he still failed to plead the citizenship of all parties, the court concluded that he had not established subject-matter jurisdiction.
Disposition
Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed the complaint without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court ruled that any pending motions were moot, canceled any conferences, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.