JONES et al v. HESP SOLAR et al

Filing 6

LETTER OPINION and ORDER. Plaintiffs are hereby notified that they will have until 10/26/2020 to cure this deficiency by filing a Second Amended Complaint. etc. Signed by Judge Stanley R. Chesler on 10/15/2020. (dam)

Case 2:20-cv-13056-SRC-CLW Document 6 Filed 10/15/20 Page 1 of 2 PageID: 38

DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CHAMBERS OF

STANLEY R. CHESLER
JUDGE

SENATOR FRANK R. LAUTENBERG BUILDING
UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND POST OFFICE
NEWARK, N.J. 07101-0999
[phone]

LETTER OPINION AND ORDER
October 15, 2020
Travis B. Martindale-Jarvis, Esq.
Law Office of Swartz Swidler, LLC
1101 Kings Highway North, Suite 402
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08034
Re:

Ralph Jones and Philip Pietrafeso v. Hesp Solar, et al.
Civil Action No. 20-13056

Dear Counsel:
The Court has received your letter dated October 13, 2020 responding to the Court’s September
24, 2020 Order to Show Cause, as well as Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint. Based on the
information provided in the Amended Complaint, the Court currently remains unsatisfied that
federal subject matter jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. To assert diversity jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000, exclusive of interest
and costs, and there must be complete diversity. For complete diversity to exist, all plaintiffs
must be citizens of a different state or states than all defendants. Strawbridge v. Curtiss, 3 Cranch
267, 2 L.Ed. 435 (1806). While the Amended Complaint properly pleads the citizenship of
Plaintiffs and Defendant Grohman, it lacks information regarding the citizenship of the members
of Defendant Hesp Solar, a limited liability company. Under Zambelli Fireworks Mfg. Co., Inc.
v. Wood, 592 F.3d 412, 420 (3d Cir. 2010), the Third Circuit explained that, for the purposes of
diversity jurisdiction, the citizenship of a limited liability company includes the citizenship of all
its members. As such, to properly plead diversity jurisdiction, Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint
must allege that none of the members of Defendant Hesp Solar are citizens of the same state as
Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs are hereby notified that they will have until October 26, 2020 to cure this
deficiency by filing a Second Amended Complaint with the requisite information. It is hereby
ORDERED that if such Amended Complaint fails to cure the deficiency, the case is to be
dismissed.
Very truly yours,
s/ Stanley R. Chesler
STANLEY R. CHESLER
United States District Judge

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Case 2:20-cv-13056-SRC-CLW Document 6 Filed 10/15/20 Page 2 of 2 PageID: 39

cc:

Clerk
All parties

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