Summary
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida sua sponte addressed deficiencies in a complaint asserting abuse of process and conspiracy to commit abuse of process. The court found that the complaint inadequately alleged the citizenship of the members of the plaintiff limited liability company and constituted a shotgun pleading under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). The complaint was dismissed without prejudice, with deadlines for filing Rule 7.1 disclosure statements and a jurisdictionally sufficient amended complaint.
Holdings
- A complaint invoking diversity jurisdiction must identify all members of a limited liability company and each member's citizenship; alleging only that the LLC is a California LLC and identifying individual plaintiffs as founding partners and majority owners is insufficient.
- A complaint that is lengthy, contains conclusory, vague, and immaterial allegations not clearly connected to a particular claim, and fails to give adequate notice of the claims and grounds for relief is an impermissible shotgun pleading and violates Rule 8(a).
- The deficient complaint should be dismissed without prejudice, with leave to file an amended complaint curing the jurisdictional and pleading defects.
Questions Presented
- Whether the complaint adequately alleged the citizenship of Marcosquared, LLC and therefore established diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
- Whether the complaint violated Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) by constituting a shotgun pleading.
- Whether the complaint should be dismissed without prejudice with an opportunity to amend.
Disposition
dismissed
Cases Cited (16)
- Cadet v. Bulger, 377 F.3d 1173, 1179 (11th Cir. 2004)(followed)
- Univ. of S. Ala. v. Am. Tobacco Co., 168 F.3d 405, 410 (11th Cir. 1999)(followed)
- Jackson v. Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co., 678 F.2d 992, 1000 (11th Cir. 1982)(followed)
- Taylor v. Appleton, 30 F.3d 1365, 1367 (11th Cir. 1994)(followed)
- Riley v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 292 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir. 2002)(followed)
- Triggs v. John Crump Toyota, Inc., 154 F.3d 1284, 1287 (11th Cir. 1998)(followed)
- McCormick v. Aderholt, 293 F.3d 1254, 1257 (11th Cir. 2002)(followed)
- Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004) (per curiam)(followed)
- Plevin v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n for Fla. Mortg. Resolution Trust, Series 2014-4, No. 6:15-cv-412-CEM-KRS, 2015 WL 12859413, at *1 (M.D. Fla. May 13, 2015)(followed)
- Molinos Valle Del Cibao, C. por A. v. Lama, 633 F.3d 1330, 1341-42 (11th Cir. 2011)(followed)
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Cited In (0)
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Court Document
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