Eve Sales Corp. v. Marie Sharp's, USA, LLC
- P. Castel
- 1:24-cv-02757
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Eve Sales Corp. v. Marie Sharp’s, USA, LLC, Judge Castel ordered jurisdictional information and a complaint amendment before deciding whether diversity jurisdiction exists.
The plaintiffs must obtain and plead additional information about Marie Sharp’s, USA, LLC’s membership and citizenship. The defendant must provide the ordered response. The action may be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if complete diversity is not alleged within 45 days.
What happened
Eve Sales Corp. and Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods, Ltd. sued Marie Sharp’s, USA, LLC, claiming that the federal court had authority based on the parties’ citizenship. The court found that the complaint did not identify the citizenship of the defendant limited liability company’s members.
The court allowed the plaintiffs 14 days to send one written question to the defendant seeking the citizenship of all its individual members and certain information about any corporate members. The defendant must answer within 14 days. The plaintiffs must then amend the complaint within 45 days to accurately state the defendant’s citizenship.
The order does not dismiss the case at this stage. It warns that the action will be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction if the plaintiffs do not allege complete diversity by the deadline. Judge P. Castel issued the order.
The detailed version
- Eve Sales Corp. v. Marie Sharp's, USA, LLC · No. 1:24-cv-02757
- P. Castel
- Apr. 15, 2024
Background
The plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that the court had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity jurisdiction allows a federal court to hear certain disputes involving citizens of different states, but all opposing parties must be completely diverse. When a limited liability company is involved, its citizenship depends on the citizenship of its members. The complaint described Marie Sharp’s, USA, LLC as a North Carolina limited liability company with a principal address in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but it did not state the citizenship of any of the LLC’s members.
Court’s Analysis
Judge P. Castel stated that subject-matter jurisdiction—the court’s legal authority to hear a case—should be addressed at the beginning of a case. The court also stated that the plaintiffs must clearly and accurately allege the citizenship of the defendant LLC’s individual members and, if any corporation is a member, that corporation’s state of incorporation and principal place of business. The complaint’s statement about the LLC’s formation and address did not provide that required information.
Order
Within 14 days of the order, the plaintiffs may serve a single interrogatory, meaning a written question used to obtain information in a lawsuit, asking Marie Sharp’s, USA, LLC for the citizenship of all natural persons who are its members and the required information about any corporate members. The defendant must answer within 14 days. Within 45 days of the order, the plaintiffs must amend the complaint to truthfully and accurately allege the defendant LLC’s citizenship. If the plaintiffs do not allege complete diversity by then, the action will be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction without further notice. The order itself does not dismiss the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.