Louisiana Federal Court Gives Benzene Plaintiffs 20 Days to Correct Jurisdictional Defect in Suit

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has given benzene plaintiffs 20 days to correct a jurisdictional defect after it determined that the plaintiffs had not properly pled the citizenship of Shell Chemical LP or Rubicon LLC.

In an April 25 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana examined subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte, concluding that the plaintiffs have “failed to adequately allege diversity jurisdiction in the Amended Complaint.”

“In order for this Court to determine the citizenship of these entities it must know the identity and citizenship of all the members/partners,” the court wrote. “If …