complete diversity

Complete diversity means that in a legal case involving parties from different states or countries, all plaintiffs (the people bringing the case) must be from different states or countries than all defendants (the parties being sued). For example, if a person from State A sues a company from State B, there is complete diversity. This rule helps ensure that federal courts handle cases where parties are from different jurisdictions, reducing local biases. It requires that no plaintiff shares a state or country of residence with any defendant for federal diversity jurisdiction to apply.