Case Information
*1 U NITED S TATES D ISTRICT C OURT M IDDLE D ISTRICT O F F LORIDA O RLANDO D IVISION
GENIE INVESTMENTS NV, LLC,
Plaintiff, v. Case No. 6:24-cv-271-ACC-LHP JOSHUA WEARMOUTH, JAMES
WILLIAM BYRD, and NORDIC
TRUST ALLIANCE KB, LLC,
Defendants. ORDER
This cause comes before the Court sua sponte on review of the case docket. Plaintiff has disregarded this Court’s Orders and the Local Rules of the Middle District of Florida on multiple occasions. Plaintiff has also failed to prosecute its case. Accordingly, the Court will dismiss this case without prejudice.
On February 6, 2024, Plaintiff Genie Investments NV (Genie) (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against Defendants Joshua Wearmouth, James William Byrd, and Nordic Trust Alliance KB, LLC (collectively, “Defendants”) asserting that Defendants engaged in “prime bank” fraud in violation of § 10(b) and Rules 10b- 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Exchange Act. (Doc. 1). Plaintiff also brings a claim for violation of a California statute and a claim for common law fraud.
On February 8, 2024, the Court entered its Initial Case Order, which ordered Plaintiff, within fourteen days of that Order, to designate whether the case is a similar or successive case. (Doc. 3). Plaintiff failed to file this designation. Additionally, on February 9, 2024, the Court entered an Order requesting Plaintiff to file an amended complaint to correct the pleading deficiencies identified in the Order, which included alleging the citizenship of each LLC defendant given that Plaintiff is basing jurisdiction, in part, on diversity of citizenship. (Doc. 4). Plaintiff ignored this Court’s Order and never amended the Complaint. Instead, Plaintiff filed a one- sentence Motion seeking to amend the pleadings that failed to comply with the requirements of the Local Rules of the Middle District of Florida. (Doc. 6). The Magistrate Judge denied this Motion for this reason. (Doc. 11).
Pursuant to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff must serve a defendant within ninety days of filing the Complaint, and Local Rule 1.10 of the Middle District of Florida requires a party to timely file a proof of service. It has been 97 days since Plaintiff instituted this action, and Plaintiff has failed to file a proof of service. Local Rule 1.10(m) provides that a failure to comply with these deadlines may result in dismissal of the action without notice and without prejudice. Here, Plaintiff not only failed to prosecute this case but has repeatedly disobeyed this Court’s Orders and failed to follow the Local Rules. Plaintiff’s case will be dismissed without prejudice.
It is also worth noting that this Court has serious questions regarding whether the Middle District of Florida – Orlando Division is the proper venue for this action. Plaintiff relies on conclusory allegations stating that venue is proper in this District because “certain acts, practices, and courses of business constituting the violations of the federal securities laws alleged herein occurred within this district, including that Defendant directed misrepresentations and deceptive conduct toward [Plaintiff’s] representatives in this district.” (Doc. 1 ¶ 16). This allegation fails to establish that the Orlando Division, as opposed to one of the other MDFL Divisions within this District, is an appropriate venue. In fact, the Complaint does not reference Orlando at all. Moreover, only one Defendant is a Florida citizen, Nordic Trust Alliance KB, and Plaintiff alleges that this Defendant is based in Miami, Florida. ( Id . ¶ 11). The other Defendants are citizens of Texas and California. ( Id . ¶¶ 9 – 10). Plaintiff is a citizen of Nevada. ( Id . ¶ 8). Plaintiff’s allegations fail to establish venue in Orlando, Florida, which Plaintiff shall remedy if this case is re-filed.
Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice . The Clerk is directed to close this file. *4 DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, in Orlando, Florida on May 13, 2024. Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record
Unrepresented Parties
