U-SMC/DeMaria JV1, LLC v. PAL Environmental Safety Corp.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION U-SMC/DEMARIA JV1, LLC, Plaintiff, v. CASE NO. 3:25-cv-117-TJC-SJH PAL ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY CORP., Defendant. ________________________________/ ORDER Plaintiff’s Disclosure Statement, Doc. 5, fails to comply with the requirements of Local Rule 3.03 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1. Questions 2 and 2(a) of the Court’s form ask if jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) and if the filer is a limited liability company (“LLC”) or other unincorporated entity. If so, the filer is directed to identify each member and the citizenship of each member (and so on). Plaintiff responded affirmatively, stating “U-SMC/DeMaria JV1, LLC – a Florida limited liability company, owned by…” and providing the principal place of business for each of the two corporations which own Plaintiff. Doc. 5 at 2.

Such response does not adequately address Plaintiff’s membership, which is what matters for diversity purposes. See Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004). In other words, “it is membership, not ownership, that is critical for determining the citizenship of an LLC.” Post v. Biomet, Inc., No. 3:20-cv-527-J-34JRK, 2020 WL 2766210, at *1 (M.D. Fla. May 28, 2020).

Additionally, assuming the two corporations listed as owners of Plaintiff are in fact members (and the only members) of the LLC, providing the principal place of business for each is insufficient to establish citizenship. Plaintiff must also provide the state(s) of incorporation of any corporate members. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c) (“[A] corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of every State and foreign state by which it has been incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place of business[.]”’).

Accordingly, Plaintiff's Disclosure Statement, Doc. 5, is stricken. Plaintiff shall properly complete and file a disclosure statement pursuant to Local Rule 3.03 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1 on or before February 12, 2025.

DONE AND ORDERED in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 5, 2025.

[Z J. Horovitz United States Magistrate Judge Copies to: Counsel of Record