Molinos Valle Del Cibao, C. Por A. v. Lama

TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge:

This case stems from a foreign currency exchange agreement. The plaintiff, a foreign corporation, bought United States dollars from the defendants, three individuals — two of whom it turns out are citizens of the Dominican Republic — in exchange for Dominican pesos. The plaintiff paid and the defendants did not; the plaintiffs sued. What was otherwise a simple state law breach of contract action became much more complicated by inartful lawyering and the allure of treble damages.

The defendants challenged subject matter jurisdiction at late junctures — on the eve of trial…