Linda Vitte v. P N K Lake Charles, LLC, et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA LAKE CHARLES DIVISION LINDA VITTE CIVIL ACTION NO. 24-cv-1326 VERSUS JUDGE VAN HOOK P N K LAKE CHARLES, LLC, ET AL MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY MEMORANDUM ORDER Big Star Stagehands, Inc. filed a Rule 7.1 Disclosure Statement (Doc. 52) and alleged that “it and its officers are citizens of the State of Louisiana.” 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. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). To establish diversity jurisdiction, a complaint or notice of removal must set forth “with specificity” a corporate party’s state of incorporation and its principal place of business. “Where the plaintiff [or removing party] fails to state the place of incorporation or the principal place of business of a corporate party, the pleadings are inadequate to establish diversity.” Joiner v. Diamond M Drilling Co., 677 F.2d 1035, 1039 (Sth Cir. 1982). The Fifth Circuit requires strict adherence to these straightforward rules. Howery v. Allstate Ins. Co., 243 F.3d 912, 919 (Sth Cir. 2001).

Big Star must file, no later than April 30, 2026 an amended Diversity Jurisdiction Disclosure Statement that specifically alleges the state in which it is incorporated and the state in which it has its principal place of business.

THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 23rd day of April, 2026.

Mark L. Hornsby