Opinion
Civil Action 2:23cv206-MHT (WO)
04-21-2023
LSD MEDIA, LLC, Plaintiff, v. PURSUIT MEDIA TV, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER
MYRON H. THOMPSON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The allegations of the complaint in this case are insufficient to invoke this court's original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (diversity of citizenship). To invoke original jurisdiction based on diversity, the complaint must distinctly and affirmatively allege each party's citizenship. See McGovern v. American Airlines, Inc., 511 F.2d 653, 654 (5th Cir. 1975) (per curiam). The allegations must show that the citizenship of each plaintiff is different from that of each defendant. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
The complaint here is insufficient because it does not indicate the citizenship of the parties that are ‘limited liability companies': plaintiff LSD Media, LLC, and defendant Pursuit Media TV, LLC. “[L]ike a limited partnership, a limited liability company is a citizen of any state of which a member of the company is a citizen.” Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004). The complaint must therefore “list the citizenships of all the members of the limited liability company.” Id. (And if the entity consists of several entities, the complaint must reflect the citizenship, or citizenships, of each and every entity based on the nature of that entity.)
It is therefore the ORDER, JUDGMENT, and DECREE of the court that the plaintiff has until May 5, 2023, to amend the complaint to allege jurisdiction sufficiently; otherwise, this lawsuit shall be dismissed without prejudice.
In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals adopted as binding precedent all of the decisions of the former Fifth Circuit handed down prior to the close of business on September 30, 1981.