Opinion
17 Civ. 4165 (ER)
01-16-2020
WILLIAM DEITRICK, JR., Plaintiff, v. CIBOLO CAPITAL PARTNERS I, LLC, and TG LLC, Defendants.
ORDER :
This Court has an independent obligation to assure itself of its subject matter jurisdiction. See Bayerische Landesbank, New York Branch v. Aladdin Capital Mgt. LLC, 692 F.3d 42, 48 (2d Cir. 2012). "The citizenship of the members of [a limited liability company] is traced all the way through — that is, when a member of an LLC is itself an LLC, the citizenship of the members of that LLC are relevant for diversity purposes, and so on." Jakks P., Inc. v. Accasvek, LLC, 270 F. Supp. 3d 191, 195 (D.D.C. 2017) (citing Bayerische Landesbank v. Aladdin Capital Management, LLC, 692 F.3d 42, 49 (2d Cir. 2012), aff'd 727 F. App'x 704 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (unpublished).
In this case, the parties have invoked the Court's diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, and so the parties must be completely diverse in order for this Court to have jurisdiction. The plaintiff is a citizen of New York. Both defendants are LLCs. According to the Notice of Removal in a related case, the members of TG LLC are Win Purifoy and Will Howard, both citizens of Texas. Notice of Removal, Deitrick v. Gypsy Guitar Corp., No. 16 Civ. 616 (ER), ¶ 6, Doc. 1. The members of Cibolo Capital Partners I, LLC are Purifoy, Howard, and, Red Star CI Interests, LLC, a "Texas limited liability company." Id. The Court has been unable to find any information about the members of Red Star or their state of citizenship within the record.
Accordingly, the parties are ordered to jointly submit a declaration by Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 12:00 p.m., identifying the members of Cibolo and TG, as well as the members' citizenship. For members who are themselves limited liability companies, partnerships, or other unincorporated associations, the parties are ordered to identify their members, as well, along with their citizenship. It is SO ORDERED. Dated: January 16, 2020
New York, New York
/s/_________
EDGARDO RAMOS, U.S.D.J.