Cheng v. Cash
- Jesse Furman
- 1:23-cv-02150
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Cheng v. Cash, Judge Furman directed pro se plaintiff Sheng-Wen Cheng to provide defendant’s citizenship and service address within 30 days.
Sheng-Wen Cheng must provide Lukas Cash’s state of citizenship and a service address, or request an extension, within 30 days. If he does not, the court may dismiss his claims against Cash for failure to prosecute.
What happened
In Cheng v. Cash, Sheng-Wen Cheng is representing himself and was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees. He did not provide Lukas Cash’s address and alleged only where Cash resides, not his state of citizenship.
The court ordered Cheng to amend his complaint within 30 days to state Cash’s state of citizenship and provide an address where Cash can be served. Cheng may instead request more time. The court explained that residence alone does not establish citizenship for diversity jurisdiction.
Judge Jesse M. Furman warned that if Cheng does neither, the court may dismiss the claims against Cash for failure to prosecute. The order itself did not dismiss the claims and directed the clerk to mail a copy to Cheng.
The detailed version
- Cheng v. Cash · No. 1:23-cv-02150
- Jesse Furman
- Aug. 1, 2023
Background
Sheng-Wen Cheng brought the action without a lawyer. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain had granted Cheng permission to proceed without paying filing fees. Because Cheng received that permission, the court and the U.S. Marshals Service could handle service of the lawsuit. Cheng, however, did not provide Lukas Cash’s address. Cheng stated only that Cash resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and alleged Cash’s residence rather than citizenship.
Court’s reasoning
The court explained that, for diversity jurisdiction, a person’s residence is not enough to establish citizenship. Citizenship depends on domicile. The order therefore required Cheng to provide additional information before service could proceed and before the court could assess the jurisdictional allegation on the information provided.
Order and effect
The court directed Cheng, within 30 days of the order, to amend the complaint to (1) allege Cash’s state of citizenship and (2) provide an address where Cash may be served. Cheng could request an extension instead. The court stated that failure to amend or request an extension could lead to dismissal of the claims against Cash under Rules 4 and 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to prosecute. The order did not itself dismiss the claims. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Cheng.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.