UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA SHREVEPORT DIVISION

ICEE CO ET AL CIVIL ACTION NO. 25-cv-008

VERSUS JUDGE EDWARDS

JEFF BRANTLEY MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY

MEMORANDUM ORDER Plaintiffs Icee Co and J&J Snack Foods Corp. filed this civil action against defendant Jeff Brantley based on an assertion of diversity jurisdiction, which puts the burden on Plaintiffs to set forth specific allegations that show complete diversity of citizenship and an amount in controversy over $75,000. Icee filed a disclosure statement pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 7.1 and alleged that it is a Delaware corporation with its “headquarters” in Tennessee. J&J filed a disclosure statement that alleged that it is a New Jersey corporation with its “headquarters” located in New Jersey. A corporation is deemed to be a citizen of (1) the state in which it was incorporated and (2) the state where it has its principal place of business.

(c)(1). A corporation’s principal place of business is where its high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities. This place is sometimes described as the “nerve center” of the corporation. Hertz Corp. v. Friend,

(2010). The plaintiffs may have intended the term “headquarters” to mean the same thing as principal place of business, but it is best to use the language of the statute and avoid any uncertainty about diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiffs are directed to file an Amended Diversity Jurisdiction Disclosure Statement by April 18, 2025 and allege their citizenship with specificity. THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 10th day of April, 2025.

Mark L. Hornsby U.S. Magistrate Judge

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