Lento v. Sayegh

USDC SDNY UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DOCUMENT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ELECTRONICALLY FILED JOSEPH D. LENTO, ESQ.. DOCH and LENTO LAW FIRM, P.C. DATE FILED: _ 4/24/2025 □□□ Plaintiffs, -against- 25 Civ. 3359 (AT) PETER SAYEGH, ESQ. ORDER and HRBA LAW LLC a/k/a HR & BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, LLC, Defendants. ANALISA TORRES, District Judge: Plaintiffs, Joseph D. Lento, Esq., and Lento Law Firm, P.C., bring this action invoking diversity subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). See Compl. § 3, ECF No. 1. If Plaintiff, Lento Law Firm, P.C., is a professional corporation, as its name implies and the complaint alleges, then the complaint must allege the citizenship of the corporation by reference to its state of incorporation and the state in which it has its principal place of business. See id. 1, 6; 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c); Saxe, Bacon & Bolan, P.C. v. Martindale-Hubell, Inc., 710 F.2d 87, 89 (2d Cir. 1983); see also Gaines v. AstraZeneca Pharm., No. 21 Civ. 5323, 2022 WL 4467366, at *3—-4 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2022). Additionally, if Defendant, HRBA Law LLC, is a limited liability company, as its name implies and the complaint alleges, then the complaint must allege the citizenship of each of the natural persons, and the place of incorporation and principal place of business of any corporate entities, who are members of the limited liability company. See Compl. 1, 8; Handelsman v. Bedford Vill. Assocs. Ltd. P’ship, 213 F.3d 48, 51-52 (2d Cir. 2000); see also Bayerische Landesbank, N.Y. Branch v. Aladdin Cap. Mgmt. LLC, 692 F.3d 42, 49 (2d Cir. 2012) (“[A] limited liability company . . . takes the citizenship of each of its members.”’). Accordingly, by May 8, 2025, Plaintiffs shall amend their complaint to properly allege the citizenship of the parties or otherwise file a letter explaining why Plaintiffs need not do so. If Plaintiffs fail to timely allege complete diversity, Plaintiffs’ claims may be dismissed sua sponte for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. SO ORDERED. Dated: April 24, 2025 New York, New York ANALISA TORRES United States District Judge