Pabon v. Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier LLC
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:23-cv-08276
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pabon v. Penske, Judge Caproni terminated Penske as a defendant and held that federal subject-matter jurisdiction existed.
Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier LLC was terminated as a defendant. The action remained in federal court, with Johns Manville and James C Lawall identified in the caption as defendants.
What happened
Pabon v. Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier LLC began in New York state court and was removed to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. The removal papers did not state the citizenship of the members of Penske Truck Leasing Co. L.P., identified as doing business as Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier, LLC.
The court had ordered the defendants to file an amended removal notice correcting that problem. Instead, the parties filed a proposed stipulation ending the case against that Penske defendant, which the court treated as a stipulation of dismissal.
Judge Valerie Caproni directed the Clerk to terminate Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier LLC as a defendant. Judge Caproni also held that the court had subject-matter jurisdiction because eliminating a non-diverse defendant before judgment preserved federal jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Pabon v. Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier LLC · No. 1:23-cv-08276
- Valerie Caproni
- Oct. 5, 2023
Background
Felix A. Pabon initially filed the action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, on July 27, 2023. Defendants removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 19, 2023, asserting diversity jurisdiction, which is federal jurisdiction based on the parties' citizenship and the amount in dispute.
The removal notice described Defendant Penske Truck Leasing Co. L.P. as doing business as Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier, LLC. It alleged that the limited partnership was organized under Delaware law and had its principal place of business in Berks County, Pennsylvania. But neither the complaint nor the removal notice alleged the citizenship of the partnership's members.
Court's Order
On September 20, 2023, the court ordered defendants to file an amended notice of removal curing the citizenship-pleading deficiency by October 4, 2023. Instead, on October 4, 2023, the parties filed a proposed stipulation of discontinuance as to the Penske defendant. The court construed that filing as a stipulation of dismissal.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier, LLC as a defendant. It also held that the court had subject-matter jurisdiction. Relying on Second Circuit precedent, the court explained that although federal jurisdiction in a removed case is normally determined when the case is removed, eliminating non-diverse defendants before judgment can preserve the action from dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
Result
The order terminated Penske Logistics Inc. Component Carrier, LLC as a defendant and held that the federal court had subject-matter jurisdiction. The opinion does not state a ruling on the merits of Pabon's underlying claims against the remaining defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.