Lecky v. McGrath
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:24-cv-03477
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lecky v. McGrath, Judge Schofield remanded the case because defendants failed to allege citizenship needed for diversity jurisdiction.
Keroy Lecky, Michael McGrath, the other defendants, and the state court to which the matter was remanded.
What happened
In Lecky v. McGrath, defendants removed the case from state court to federal court, claiming that the federal court had diversity jurisdiction because the parties were citizens of different states.
The court explained that diversity jurisdiction requires more than $75,000 to be at issue and requires the parties to be citizens of different states. The notice of removal alleged only where the parties lived—not their citizenship—both when the case began and when it was removed.
The court remanded the matter to state court and directed the Clerk to close the federal case and send a certified copy of the order to the state court. Judge Lorna G. Schofield issued the order.
The detailed version
- Lecky v. McGrath · No. 1:24-cv-03477
- Lorna Schofield
- May 15, 2024
Background
Defendants filed a notice of removal on May 6, 2024, seeking to move this action from state court to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The notice relied on diversity jurisdiction, which generally requires that the amount in dispute exceed $75,000 and that the opposing parties be citizens of different states.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that the party invoking federal jurisdiction has the burden of establishing that jurisdiction exists. Because diversity was the only stated basis for removal, the notice had to allege the parties’ citizenship both when the state-court action began and when the case was removed.
The notice stated that the plaintiff and defendants were citizens of different states, but it alleged only that the plaintiff resided in the Bronx, New York; that Thomas McGrath resided in Connecticut; and that Michael McGrath resided in Virginia. The court explained that residence does not establish citizenship for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. The court therefore found that the notice of removal was procedurally defective.
Ruling
The court ordered that the matter be REMANDED to state court. It directed the Clerk of Court to close the federal case and mail a certified copy of the order to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). Judge Lorna G. Schofield signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.