Hoffman v. Fairfax Cty. Redevelopment and Housing

• Decision Date: 11 July 2003
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 02-2548 RMU.,CIV.A. 02-2548 RMU.
• Citation: 276 F.Supp.2d 14
• Parties: Geraldine HOFFMAN, Plaintiff, v. FAIRFAX COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

276 F.Supp.2d 14

Geraldine HOFFMAN, Plaintiff, v. FAIRFAX COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY et al., Defendants.

No. CIV.A. 02-2548 RMU.

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

July 11, 2003.

Jonathan Eric Agin, Angela Williams Russell, Wilson Eiser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, Washington, DC, for Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Quantum Property Management, defendants.

Robert M. Ross, Office of County Atty., Fairfax, VA, for Fairfax County, defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

URBINA, District Judge.

TRANSFERRING THE ACTION TO THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

I. INTRODUCTION

This toxic-torts action comes before the court on various motions to dismiss filed by the defendants. Specifically, the court addresses defendant Fairfax County's motion to dismiss for lack of federal subjectmatter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), and denies the motion because subject-matter jurisdiction exists in the form of diversity jurisdiction. The court moves on to consider the defendants' motions to dismiss for improper venue pursuant to Rule 12(b)(3). Because venue is improper in this district under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a), the court transfers the action to its sister court in the Eastern District of Virginia pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

II. BACKGROUND

The plaintiff, Geraldine Hoffman, rented an apartment located in Falls Church, Virginia, managed by defendant Quantum Real Estate Management, LLC ("defendant Quantum"). In her complaint filed on December 31, 2002, the plaintiff alleges that she paid rent for this apartment to defendants Fairfax County and Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority ("defendant FCRHA"). Compl. at 2. In addition, the plaintiff claims that she has suffered injuries due to the defendants' negligent use and storage of toxic chemicals in her apartment building and seeks $400,000.00 in damages. Id. at 3-4.

The defendants each filed separate motions to dismiss. Defendant Quantum filed a Rule 12(b)(3) motion to dismiss for improper venue. Def. Quantum's Mot. at 1. Defendant FCRHA argues both lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue under Rule 12(b)(2) and (3), respectively. Def. FCRHA's Mot. at 1. Defendant Fairfax County seeks dismissal for lack of federal subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction, improper venue, and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), (2), (3), and (6), respectively. Def. Fairfax County's Mot. at 1.

In response to each of these motions, the plaintiff filed oppositions simply requesting that the court transfer the case to the Eastern District of Virginia. Pl.'s Opp'n to Def. Quantum's Mot. at 1; Pl.'s Opp'n to Def. Fairfax County's Mot. at 1; Pl.'s Opp'n to Def. FCRHA's Mot. at 1. All of the parties then jointly filed a praecipe on June 25, 2003, noting for the record that defendant Quantum has members residing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Praecipe at 1. The court now addresses the pending motions to dismiss.

III. ANALYSIS

As noted, the defendants bring various Rule 12(b) motions, requiring the court to determine the order in which it must address these challenges. For this reason, the court must briefly clear away some legal underbrush before reaching the main issues.

The court first resolves defendant Fairfax County's motion for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction before addressing the motions asserting improper venue. Kier Bros. Invs. v. White, 943 F.Supp. 1, 4 (D.D.C.1996) (Sullivan, J.) (explaining that a court must address a subject-matter jurisdiction challenge before the question of venue). As for defendants Fairfax County's and FCRHA's motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the court need not address these motions because the defendants' venue challenges are dispositive of the action in this court.¹ Leroy v. Great W. United Corp., 443 U.S. 173, 180, 99 S.Ct. 2710, 61 L.Ed.2d 464 (1979) (noting that although personal jurisdiction often is addressed before venue, "when there is a sound prudential justification for doing so, [ ] a court may reverse the normal order of considering personal jurisdiction and venue").

For the same reason, the court declines to address defendant Fairfax County's Rule 12(b)(6) motion because, as discussed later in this opinion, the court elects to transfer the action to the Eastern District of Virginia and therefore believes that the transferee court will be better situated to resolve that motion. Hafstad v. Hornick, 1987 WL 10871, at *3 (D.D.C. May 6, 1987) (Flannery, J.) (deciding that motions to transfer are properly heard before substantive motions to dismiss, reasoning that "it is fitting to leave all decisions on the merits to [the transferee] district court, rather than to tie that court's hands with substantive decisions made in this jurisdiction").

A. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction

1. Legal Standard for a Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1)

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and the law presumes that "a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction." Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994); St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 288-89, 58 S.Ct. 586, 82 L.Ed. 845 (1938). On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the court has subject-matter jurisdiction. Evans v. B.F. Perkins Co., 166 F.3d 642, 647 (4th Cir. 1999); Rasul v. Bush, 215 F.Supp.2d 55, 61 (D.D.C.2002) (citing McNutt v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 182-83, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936)). The court may dismiss a complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction only if "`it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.'" Empagran S.A. v. F. Hoffman-LaRoche, Ltd., 315 F.3d 338, 343 (D.C.Cir.2003) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). In this circuit, courts must assume the truth of the allegations made and construe them in a light favorable to the plaintiff. Id. (citing Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974), overruled on other grounds, Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)).

Because subject-matter jurisdiction focuses on the court's power to hear the plaintiff's claim, a court resolving a Rule 12(b)(1) motion must give the complaint's factual allegations closer scrutiny than required for a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Grand Lodge of Fraternal Order of Police v. Ashcroft, 185 F.Supp.2d 9, 13 (D.D.C.2001). Moreover, the court is not limited to the allegations contained in the complaint. Hohri v. United States, 782 F.2d 227, 241 (D.C.Cir.1986), vacated on other grounds, 482 U.S. 64, 107 S.Ct. 2246, 96 L.Ed.2d 51 (1987). Instead, to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case, the court may consider materials outside the pleadings. Herbert v. Nat'l Acad. of Sciences, 974 F.2d 192, 197 (D.C.Cir. 1992).

2. The Court Denies Defendant Fairfax County's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Because Diversity Jurisdiction Exists

A district court has subject-matter jurisdiction over a case when the parties are diverse in citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00 per plaintiff, exclusive of interest and costs. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); C.T. Carden v. Arkoma Assocs., 494 U.S. 185, 187, 110 S.Ct. 1015, 108 L.Ed.2d 157 (1990). Here, while the complaint lacks a Rule 8(a)(1) statement setting forth the basis for the court's jurisdiction, grounds for diversity jurisdiction become apparent when the complaint is read in conjunction with other submissions in the record. Hohri, 782 F.2d at 241; Herbert, 974 F.2d at 197; Praecipe at 1; see generally Compl. The court must therefore determine whether the plaintiff has in fact satisfied the requirements for diversity jurisdiction.

The court notes at the outset that the plaintiff satisfies the amount-in-controversy requirement. The complaint alleges $150,000.00 in medical expenses and $250,000.00 for pain and suffering, for a total of $400,000.00, a sum which far exceeds the threshold statutory amount for diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); Compl. at 4.

As for the parties' citizenship, the plaintiff resides in the District of Columbia while defendants Fairfax County and FCRHA both reside in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Compl. at 2. The citizenship of defendant Quantum, however, is a more complicated question because it is a limited liability company ("LLC") rather than a corporation. Praecipe Ex. A (Articles of Organization).

The Supreme Court has limited corporate citizenship to corporations. Carden, 494 U.S. at 190, 110 S.Ct. 1015 (explaining that "the tradition of the common law [] is to treat as legal persons only incorporated groups and to assimilate all others to partnerships") (internal quotation omitted). Therefore, LLCs do not enjoy corporate citizenship for purposes of diversity. Johnson-Brown v. 2200 M St. LLC, 257 F.Supp.2d 175, 179-80 (D.D.C. 2003) (citations omitted). Instead, they are treated as analogous to partnerships, which carry the citizenship of their members. Carden, 494 U.S. at 195-96, 110 S.Ct. 1015.

The record indicates that defendant Quantum has members residing in Virginia, and defendant Quantum has stated definitively that none of its members live in the District of Columbia. Praecipe at 1. Because the parties on each side of the action reside in different states, this case has complete diversity of citizenship.² 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); Compl. at 2; Praecipe at 1. Accordingly, the court denies defendant Fairfax County's motion to dismiss because the court has subject-matter jurisdiction over the action vis-a-vis diversity jurisdiction. Carden, 494 U.S. at 187, 110 S.Ct. 1015.

B. Venue

1. Legal...