UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA SHREVEPORT DIVISION

J & M FURNITURE OUTLET L L C CIVIL ACTION NO. 22-cv-719

VERSUS JUDGE TERRY A. DOUGHTY

STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY CO MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY

MEMORANDUM ORDER J & M Furniture Outlet, LLC filed this action in state court against State Farm, and State Farm removed the case based on an assertion of diversity jurisdiction. The notice of removal alleged that the records of the secretary of state indicate that J & M has one member who is a citizen of Louisiana. The court issued an order (Doc. 6) that explained that the records of the secretary of state for an LLC often do not list all members, and the records are not always current. The court directed J & M to file a corporate disclosure statement that includes a list of all of its members on the date it filed its state court petition and on the date of removal and to set forth the citizenship of each member in accordance with the applicable rules. J & M filed its corporate disclosure statement (Doc. 9) and alleged that its sole member is Refaat Shalabi, “who is a resident of Bossier Parish, Louisiana.” It is domicile rather than mere residency that decides citizenship for diversity purposes, and “an allegation of residency alone ‘does not satisfy the requirement of an allegation of citizenship.’” Midcap Media Finance, LLC v. Pathway Data, Inc.,

(5th Cir. 2019), quoting Strain v. Harrelson Rubber Co.,

(5th Cir. 1984). The court will assume that Refaat Shalabi is a domiciliary/citizen of Louisiana. If any party contests that fact, they must file a written response to this order within 7 days and declare the state other than Louisiana in which Refaat Shalabi is domiciled. Based on this assumption, the court finds that subject matter jurisdiction exists pursuant to

. This finding is preliminary and may be reconsidered sua sponte or on appropriate motion. THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this April 5, 2022.

rAd Mark L. Hornsby U.S. Magistrate Judge

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