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Kicked Out of Federal Court: How Stateless Citizens Fall Outside of Diversity of Citizenship

Diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 is one way for parties to obtain entry into federal court.  When the case in controversy exceeds $75,000, federal courts have jurisdiction if the action is between “citizens of different States,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1), or between “citizens of a State and citizens and or subjects of a foreign state,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(2).  In Jane Doe v. Grace Baptist Church, 2022 WL 1490486 (N.D.N.Y. May 11, 2022), the Northern District of New York addressed the application of these provisions to a party with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Greece and found that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction… Read more

Delaware Chancery Shifts $75 Million Contingent Attorneys’ Fee to Losing Party in Litigation over Busted Merger

In The Williams Companies, Inc. v. Energy Transfer LP,  C.A. No. 12168 & 12337, 2022 WL 3650176 (Del. Ch. Aug. 25, 2022), the court held that the fee shifting provision in the parties’ merger agreement permitted plaintiff’s counsel to add its contingent fee to its client’s liquidated damages award in litigation over a busted merger… Read more

New York Not Proper Forum for Action Against Foreign Defendant for Conduct Abroad

In Kingstown Capital Mgmt. v. Vitek, 0:20-cv-03406 (2d Cir. Sep. 1, 2022), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a RICO suit filed in the Southern District of New York by a Delaware investment firm against foreign defendants for conduct that occurred outside the United States and was already the subject of a foreign proceeding under foreign law… Read more

Court of Appeals Venue Decision Calls into Question the Controlling Evidence of a Corporation’s Principal Place of Business

In Lividini v. Goldstein, 37 NY3d 1047 [2021], the Court of Appeals held that defendant doctor had submitted evidence sufficient to establish that his “principal office” under CPLR 403(d) was in Westchester County, even though the doctor’s medical license registration listed a Bronx address. Id. at 1048-50… Read more