Elite-Weiler Pools, Inc. v. Arch Insurance Company et al

Filing 7

ORDERED: The Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. Plaintiff Elite-Weiler Pools, Inc. may file an amended complaint on or before November 28, 2023. Failure to do so may result in the Court closing this action without further notice. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 11/15/2023. (AEH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
ELITE-WEILER POOLS, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.: 2:23-cv-1022-SPC-NPM

ARCH INSURANCE COMPANY
and ASTRA CONSTRUCTION
SERVICES, LLC,
Defendants.
/
OPINION AND ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff Elite-Weiler Pools, Inc.’s Complaint. (Doc.
1).

Plaintiff sues Defendants Arch Insurance Company and Astra

Construction Services, LLC for breach of contract and nonpayment under
Florida Statute § 255.05. But the Court must dismiss the Complaint without
prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Federal courts have limited jurisdiction and must ask about their
jurisdiction sua sponte when it is lacking. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins.
Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994); Univ. of S. Ala. v. Am. Tobacco Co., 168
F.3d 405, 410 (11th Cir. 1999). A plaintiff filing in federal court “must allege
facts that, if true, show federal subject matter jurisdiction over [the] case
exists.” Travaglio v. Am. Express Co., 735 F.3d 1266, 1268-69 (11th Cir. 2013).

If a court has no jurisdiction, it “must dismiss the complaint in its entirety.”
Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514 (2006).
Plaintiff cites diversity jurisdiction as the basis for subject matter
jurisdiction. A court has such jurisdiction (1) if the parties are citizens of
different states; and (2) the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Morrison
v. Allstate Indem. Co., 228 F.3d 1255, 1261 (11th Cir. 2000). Here, Plaintiff
has not sufficiently pled Defendant Astra’s citizenship.
For a limited liability company, like Astra, it is a citizen of every state in
which one of its members is domiciled. See Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v.
Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020 (11th Cir. 2004). And each LLC
member must be diverse from the opposing party. Flintlock Constr. Servs.,
LLC v. Well-Come Holdings, LLC, 710 F.3d 1221, 1224-25 (11th Cir. 2013).
The Complaint identifies Astra’s “Manager” as Astra Group, LLC, whose
members are Ian Lindsay and Andrew Lindsay. (Doc. 1 at 3). According to the
Complaint, both are “residents of Georgia.” (Doc. 1 at 3). But residency is not
enough to prove citizenship. See Taylor v. Appleton, 30 F.3d 1365, 1367 (11th
Cir. 1994) (“Citizenship, not residence, is the key fact that must be alleged in
the complaint to establish diversity for a natural person.”). Rather, citizenship
is determined by the person’s “domicile,” or “the place of his true, fixed, and
permanent home and principal establishment . . . to which he has the intention
of returning whenever he is absent therefrom.” McCormick v. Aderholt, 293
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F.3d 1254, 1257-58 (11th Cir. 2002). So Plaintiff cannot rely on Ian Lindsay’s
and Andrew Lindsay’s residencies to show their citizenships. The Court thus
dismisses the Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED:
1. The Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice.
2. Plaintiff Elite-Weiler Pools, Inc. may file an amended complaint on or
before November 28, 2023. Failure to do so may result in the
Court closing this action without further notice.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on November 15, 2023.

Copies: All Parties of Record

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