Federal Judge yesterday ordered Borgata to tighten its case up against Ivey. U.S. District Court Judge Noel Hillman noted the Borgata complaint

"did not properly allege the citizenship of the parties and

WHEREAS, Federal courts have an independent obligation to address issues of subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte and may do so at any stage of the litigation; [and]

WHEREAS, the complaint alleges that plaintiff Marina District Development Co., LLC d/b/a Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (“Borgata”) is a limited liability company organized and existing pursuant to the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its principal place of business in New Jersey; but

WHEREAS, the complaint does not list each member of the LLC, and each member’s citizenship; and

WHEREAS, the Third Circuit has held that the citizenship of an LLC is determined by the citizenship of each of its members; and

WHEREAS, the complaint alleges “upon information and belief” that defendant Phillip D. Ivey, Jr., is a “citizen of the United States currently residing in Mexico”; but

WHEREAS, the complaint does not allege the particular State within the United States in which Ivey is a citizen; and

WHEREAS, the complaint alleges “upon information and belief” that defendant Cheng Yin Sun is a “resident” of the State of Nevada; but

WHEREAS, the complaint does not allege the State in which Sun is a “citizen”

Therefore, it is on this 14th day of April, 2014,

ORDERED that plaintiff shall have ten (10) days to amend its complaint to properly comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1332. If plaintiff fails to do so, this case will be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”


http://blog.northjersey.com/meadowla...pro-phil-ivey/