Notable Items:
Plaintiff: St. James Apartments
Defendant: Coinmach Corporation
Venue: United States District Court , District of New Jersey
Issue(s) Before the Court:
Does this court have subject-matter jurisdiction based upon citizenship diversity?
Plaintiff's Claim(s):
Assert federal jurisdiction based upon citizenship diversity, Florida for the plaintiffs and Delaware/New Jersey for the defendants and that the amount in question exceeds $75k.
Defendant's Claim(s):
Motion to dismiss from federal court based upon plaintiff's being citizens of New Jersey, not Florida.
Holding(s) and Disposition:
Held: Yes. The plaintiff is a citizen of Florida while the defendant is a citizen of Delaware/New Jersey.
Disposition: Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is denied.
Material Facts:
- Lease agreement between plaintiffs, three companies: St James Apartments, LLC, Jasontown Apartments, LLC and Hackensack Associates, LP, and the defendant.
- Sole member of all three companies is James Nuckel.
- Nuckel claims to be a citizen of Florida.
- Nuckel's children attend school in Florida, his vehicle is registred in Florida, he is registered to vote in Florida, and files his income taxes in Florida.
- A full recounting of the facts is available below
Procedural History:
Rationale
Majority Opinion
- The burder of proving citizenship diversity, by preponderance of the evidence, lies on the party making the claim.
- LLC's are citizens of the state in which their members are citizens, rather than their state of incorporation.
- A person is a citizen of the state in which he is domiciled.
- Domicile is his true, fixed and permanment home and place of habituation.
- Decision based upon: house of residence, payment of personal taxes, vehicle registration, place of business, and exercise of political rights.
- Nuckel's children attend school in Florida, his vehicle is registred in Florida, he is registered to vote in Florida, and files his income taxes in Florida.
- The court concludes that the plaintiffs have carried that burden through the certification of their managing partner, James Nuckel.
- A full description of the rationale is available below
Full Recounting of Facts
- Lease agreement between plaintiffs, three companies: St James Apartments, LLC, Jasontown Apartments, LLC and Hackensack Associates, LP, and the defendant.
- Sole member of all three companies is James Nuckel.
- Nuckel claims to be a citizen of Florida.
- The burder of proving citizenship diversity, by preponderance of the evidence, lies on the party making the claim.
- LLC's are citizens of the state in which their members are citizens, rather than their state of incorporation.
- A person is a citizen of the state in which he is domiciled.
- Domicile is his true, fixed and permanment home and place of habituation.
- Decision based upon: house of residence, payment of personal taxes, vehicle registration, place of business, and exercise of political rights.
- Nuckel's children attend school in Florida, his vehicle is registred in Florida, he is registered to vote in Florida, and files his income taxes in Florida.
- The court concludes that the plaintiffs have carried that burden through the certification of their managing partner, James Nuckel.
- A list of the material facts is available above
Majority Full Argument
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- The core of the rationale is available above