Kenneth Radcliffe, an individual, Crackerjack Classics, LLC, a limited liability company, Plaintiffsv.William Wright, an individual, Keystone Financial Management, Inc., a corporation, Robert Stevens, an individual, and Social Life Network, Inc., a corporation, Defendants
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER In September 2014, Defendant William Wright held a meeting with Plaintiff Kenneth Radcliffe and others to solicit funds to “clean up” a shell company named SEWC to make it more marketable for a future merger. In exchange for their financial support, Wright promised Radcliffe and Plaintiff Crackerjack Classics, LLC — a limited liability company of which Radcliffe is a member — a controlling interest in SEWC after the anticipated merger. Relying on Wright’s representations, Radcliffe and Crackerjack wired $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, to Defendant Keystone Financial Management, Inc., which Wright controlled. Rather than using the Plaintiffs’ funds solely for the benefit of SEWC, however, Wright misappropriated $24,000. Plaintiffs never received any interest in SEWC or the entity into which it ultimately merged, and despite numerous requests, have not received a refund of their investment. Plaintiffs brought this action asserting a violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. §1962(c), and various state common law claims. Defendants have moved to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. In their opposition to Defendants’ motion, Plaintiffs withdrew their RICO claim — the only claim arising under federal law. Because neither Plaintiff has alleged an amount in controversy sufficient to establish diversity jurisdiction, and the damages they claim cannot be aggregated, Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is granted.I. BACKGROUNDFrank Ottaviani introduced Defendant William Wright, an investor, to Plaintiff Kenneth Radcliffe and non-parties Joseph Radcliffe and Dennis Radcliffe1 in the late summer of 2014. Amended Complaint (“Am. Compl.”) (ECF No. 41)
