Morris v. DeLuca, M.D.
- Clarke
- 1:23-cv-07229
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Morris v. DeLuca, Judge Clarke remanded the complaint to state court without prejudice because shared New York citizenship defeated diversity jurisdiction.
Betty Morris and the defendants identified in the opinion, including the defendants the court found shared New York citizenship with Morris; the federal case was returned to New York state court.
What happened
Morris v. DeLuca began in federal court with Betty Morris as the plaintiff and Joseph DeLuca, M.D., and others as defendants. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
Federal courts may hear a case based on the parties’ citizenship only when no plaintiff shares citizenship with any defendant. The court found that Morris and six defendants were citizens of New York State, so that requirement was not met.
Judge Clarke ruled that the federal court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and remanded the complaint to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, without prejudice. The court also found any pending motions moot, canceled conferences, and directed the Clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Morris v. DeLuca, M.D. · No. 1:23-cv-07229
- Clarke
- Oct. 11, 2023
Background
Betty Morris filed this action in federal court against Joseph DeLuca, M.D., and other defendants. The opinion does not identify the underlying claims.
Jurisdiction
The court explained that federal courts must have subject-matter jurisdiction—the legal authority to hear a case. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity of citizenship, meaning that no plaintiff may be a citizen of the same state as any defendant.
The court reviewed the complaint and found that Morris and defendants Shilpa Mehra, Arthur Abelow, New York GI Center, LLC, New York Associates in Gastroenterology, and Montefiore Medical Center were all citizens of New York State. Because at least one plaintiff and one defendant shared citizenship, complete diversity was absent. The court therefore concluded that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.
Disposition
Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke ordered that the complaint be remanded to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, 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.