Windward Bora LLC v. Jain, 1:18-cv-01844

Windward Bora LLC filed a foreclosure action in federal court, asserting diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(2).
Plaintiff alleged it was an LLC whose sole member, Yonel Devico, was a Moroccan citizen residing in Florida as a non-permanent resident at the time of filing.
Key defendants were Divya Jain (U.S. citizen, allegedly domiciled in New York or Florida) and Fannie Mae (DC corporation).
PCN LLC was substituted for Fannie Mae, and after a lengthy pause for a related state court action and unsuccessful mediation, PCN questioned whether complete diversity existed at filing.
Plaintiff submitted documents to prove Devico's non-citizen, non-permanent resident status at the relevant time, but PCN challenged the authenticity of those documents.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Existence of Diversity Jurisdiction	Devico was a Moroccan citizen, not a U.S. permanent resident at filing—supports diversity.	Devico and/or Jain may have been Florida residents, defeating diversity.	Plaintiff must authenticate Devico's documents to prove citizenship at filing.
Relevance of Substituted Defendant's Citizenship	Only citizenship at filing matters; PCN’s later addition is irrelevant.	None directly; raised jurisdictional issue post-filings.	Citizenship of current parties at filing controls.
Authentication of Citizenship Documents	Submitted passports, visa, green card, and declaration evidencing Devico's status.	Documents are incomplete, unauthenticated, and inadmissible.	Plaintiff failed to authenticate most documents; must allow inspection/discovery.
Remedy for Jurisdictional Uncertainty	No explicit remedy requested; implied that the issue is satisfied by provided evidence.	Requested limited discovery to verify document authenticity.	Allows document inspection and limited discovery; possible cost shifting if further discovery is required.

Herrick Co. v. SCS Commc’ns, Inc., 251 F.3d 315 (case establishing burden to prove diversity jurisdiction)
Newman-Green, Inc. v. Alfonzo-Larrain, 490 U.S. 826 (explains diversity under § 1332(a)(2) requires foreign citizenship, not merely residency)
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. v. K N Energy, Inc., 498 U.S. 426 (diversity assessed at time of filing, not affected by subsequent changes)
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (explains citizenship and domicile requirements for diversity jurisdiction)
Pittsburgh, C. & St. L.R. Co. v. Ramsey, 89 U.S. 322 (facts, not party agreement, establish jurisdiction)
Bayerische Landesbank v. Aladdin Cap. Mgmt. LLC, 692 F.3d 42 (LLC's citizenship based on each member's citizenship)