The Ohio Security Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company
- P. Castel
- 1:24-cv-00149
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ohio Security Insurance v. Kinsale, Judge Castel ordered Ohio Security to clarify citizenship allegations or face dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
The Ohio Security Insurance Company, Kinsale Insurance Company, and Black Bull Builders, LLC; the order specifically requires Ohio Security to clarify the parties’ citizenship allegations.
What happened
The Ohio Security Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company involves a complaint claiming that the federal court could hear the case because the parties are citizens of different states.
The court said the complaint did not properly allege the citizenship of Black Bull Builders, LLC’s members. It also said Ohio Security must state its own citizenship directly and identify its principal place of business, rather than relying on information and belief or stating only a place of business.
Judge Castel allowed Ohio Security seven days to ask Black Bull about its members’ citizenship and required an amended complaint within fourteen days. The court warned that the action will be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if the amended complaint is not filed.
The detailed version
- The Ohio Security Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company · No. 1:24-cv-00149
- P. Castel
- Jan. 10, 2024
Background
The complaint invoked diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity jurisdiction is a form of federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on the citizenship of the parties. The complaint identified Black Bull Builders, LLC as a New York entity with a New York office and described Ohio Security as a corporation organized under New Hampshire law with a place of business in Massachusetts.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that an LLC has the citizenship of each of its members. To determine whether complete diversity exists, Ohio Security therefore had to allege the citizenship of every member of Black Bull Builders. The required information depends on the type of member: an individual’s state of domicile, a corporation’s state of incorporation and principal place of business, or, for another LLC, the citizenship of that LLC’s members.
The court also held that Ohio Security should not allege its own citizenship “upon information and belief.” It had to allege its principal place of business, rather than merely a place of business.
Order
Within seven days of the order, Ohio Security may serve Black Bull Builders with an interrogatory limited to the citizenship of its members. Within fourteen days, Ohio Security shall file an amended complaint that properly alleges the citizenship of all parties. The order states that the action will be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if Ohio Security does not do so. The court did not decide the underlying merits of the case.
Judge P. Castel issued the order on January 10, 2024.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.