Mills 2011 LLC v. Synovus Bank

921 F. Supp. 2d 219, 2013 WL 443541, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15602
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 5, 2013
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 6158(AJN)
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 921 F. Supp. 2d 219 (Mills 2011 LLC v. Synovus Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mills 2011 LLC v. Synovus Bank, 921 F. Supp. 2d 219, 2013 WL 443541, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15602 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge.

Defendant Synovus Bank removed this matter to this Court from state court on August 10, 2012. (D.E. 1). Synovus Bank has now moved to dismiss this case due to lack of personal jurisdiction or, in the alternative, to transfer it to the Northern District of Georgia under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). (D.E. 4). Plaintiff Mills 2011 LLC (“Mills”) opposes these requests and, in its opposition, argues that the case should be remanded to state court due to lack of diversity jurisdiction. (D.E. 21).

I. BACKGROUND

Mills alleges in its Complaint that in December 2011 it purchased eight secured loans from Synovus Bank. (Compl. ¶¶ 9-10). Among other things, the relevant documents underlying the sale of these loans provided specific representations and warranties, including that all of the documents pertaining to those loans had been identified in an exhibit to the sales contract, and that no loan was cross-collateralized or cross-defaulted with any other loan owned by Synovus Bank or its affiliates. (Compl. ¶¶ 14). Mills alleges that Synovus Bank breached these representations and warranties, and now brings claims for breach of contract, breach of representations and warranties, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and specific performance. (Compl. ¶¶ 15-59).

II. ANALYSIS

Subject matter jurisdiction in this action is premised on diversity of citizenship. (Not. of Removal ¶ 3). Courts have an- independent obligation to determine whether subject matter jurisdiction exists. Arbaugh v. Y & H, 546 U.S. 500, 514, 126 S.Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2006). As such, the Court must consider whether it has such'jurisdiction over this matter, or whether the case should be remanded to State court.

To remove a case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction, the defendant must aver that all of the requirements of diversity jurisdiction are met, including complete diversity of citizenship. See Brown v. Eli Lilly & Co., 654 F.3d 347, 356 (2d Cir.2011). In the case of a [221]*221limited liability company, such citizenship is determined by the citizenship of natural persons who are members of the limited liability company and the place of incorporation and principal place of business of any corporate entities that are members of the limited liability company. See Handelsman v. Bedford Vill. Assoc. Ltd. P’ship, 213 F.3d 48, 51-52 (2d Cir.2000) (citing Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir.1998)); Strother v. Harte, 171 F.Supp.2d 203, 205 (S.D.N.Y.2001) (“For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members.”); Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a).

The Notice of Removal alleges that Mills is “a Limited Liability Company (LLC) incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, with its principal place of business in the State of New York,” and additionally alleges that Synovus Bank is “not aware of any members [of Mills] being citizens of Georgia such that complete diversity of citizenship would be affected.” (Not. of Removal ¶¶ 9-10; see also Compl. ¶ 5). It further alleges that Synovus Bank is “a corporate citizen of the State of Georgia, incorporated under the laws of Georgia, with its principal place of business in the State of Georgia.” Plaintiff now argues that one of the members of Mills is a Georgia citizen, and that the parties are therefore non-diverse for purposes of subject matter jurisdiction. (Opp. at 9-13). In resolving whether the Court has subject matter jurisdiction, the Court is permitted to refer to evidence outside the pleadings. See Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir.2000).

Here, Mills contends that the requirements of diversity jurisdiction are not met because, tracing the extended chain of membership in Mills demonstrates that one or more of the members of its parent organizations is a citizen of the State of Georgia and, therefore, Mills and Synovus Bank are both Georgia citizens. (Opp. at 1-3, 10-11). Specifically, Mills notes that its sole member is Able Trust 2011-1. (Harris Decl. Hill, 4). Able Trust 2011-1’s sole beneficiary is, in turn, Able 2011 LLC. (Harris Decl. ¶ 5). Arguing that the Court should look to the citizenship of this beneficiary (Able 2011 LLC) to determine the citizenship of Able Trust 2011-1 and, by extension, of Mills, Mills points out that by tracing the long chain of ownership interests in Able 2011 LLC, the Court eventually comes to FAM Opportunity Fund, LLC (“FAM”) which has a number of members who are Georgia citizens. (Harris Decl. ¶¶ 12-17; Eisenberg Decl. ¶ 3).1

Synovus Bank responds that Mills is wrong in urging the Court to look to the beneficiaries of Able Trust 2011-1 in determining the citizenship of that trust. (Reply at 3-10). Rather, Synovus Bank points to the Supreme Court’s decision in Navarro Sav. Ass’n v. Lee, 446 U.S. 458, 100 S.Ct. 1779, 64 L.Ed.2d 425 (1980), and argues that it is the citizenship of the trustees of Able Trust 2011-1, not the citizenship of the beneficiaries of that trust, that is relevant to the present inquiry. Mills disputes this reading of Navarro, pointing to other Supreme Court precedent, and contends that the Court must look to the citizenship of the beneficiaries of Able Trust 2011-1 to determine the citizenship of the trust. Thus, the Court’s first task is to determine the proper test [222]*222for establishing the citizenship of a trust for diversity purposes.

A. Citizenship of Trusts for Diversity Purposes

In Navarro, eight trustees of a business trust organized under Massachusetts law brought suit in federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, contending that they were entitled to invoke that jurisdiction on the basis of their own citizenship rather than the citizenship of the beneficiaries of the trust. See id. at 458-59, 100 S.Ct. 1779. The trustees were granted substantial powers by the declaration of trust, including exclusive authority over the corpus of the trust, as well the powers to transact business, execute documents, sue and be sued in the name of the trust or in their own names, invest funds, lend money, and initiate compromise lawsuits relating to the trust’s affairs. See id. at 459, 100 S.Ct. 1779. The Court, faced with the petitioner’s argument that the real parties to the lawsuit for diversity purposes were the trust’s beneficiaries, characterized the question before it as “whether [the] trustees are real parties to this controversy for purposes of a federal court’s diversity jurisdiction.” Id. at 461— 62, 100 S.Ct. 1779.

After reviewing its precedent on the subject and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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Bluebook (online)
921 F. Supp. 2d 219, 2013 WL 443541, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mills-2011-llc-v-synovus-bank-nysd-2013.