Garcia-Gutierrez v. United Fire & Casualty Company

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
JUAN GARCIA-GUTIERREZ,
Plaintiff,
v. 	Case No.: 26cv3260 LF/SCY
UNITED FIRE & CASUALTY
COMPANY d/b/a UFG INSURANCE,
Defendant.
ORDER TO FILE RULE 7.1 NOTICE
This matter comes before the Court sua sponte, following its review of the Notice of
Removal, filed by Defendant, United Fire & Casualty Company d/b/a UFG Insurance, on
September 30, 2026. Doc. 1. The Notice of Removal alleges that “Plaintiff is a resident of the
State of New Mexico[.]” Doc. 1 at 1-2 ¶ 2. Residency, however, is not equivalent to citizenship.
See Siloam Springs Hotel, L.L.C. v. Century Surety Co., 781 F.3d 1233, 1238 (10th Cir. 2015).
Citizenship, or domicile, exists only when residence is coupled with an intention to remain in the
state indefinitely. Middleton v. Stephenson, 749 F.3d 1197, 1200 (10th Cir. 2014).
The Court notes that Rule 7.1 requires every party to file a disclosure statement as to its
own citizenship. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1(a)(2) (“In an action in which jurisdiction is based on
diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), a party or intervenor must, unless the court orders
otherwise, file a disclosure statement. The statement must name—and identify the citizenship
of—every individual or entity whose citizenship is attributed to that party or intervenor: when
the action is filed in or removed to federal court.”); see also id. Committee Notes - 2022
Amendment (“The disclosure does not relieve a party that asserts diversity jurisdiction from the
Rule 8(a)(1) obligation to plead the grounds for jurisdiction, but is designed to facilitate an early
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and accurate determination of jurisdiction.”). In keeping with this intent, the Court orders
Plaintiff to file a Rule 7.1 notice stating his citizenship—not residency—by Friday, October 16,
2026.
SO ORDERED.
__________________________________
STEVEN C. YARBROUGH
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Case 1:26-cv-03260-LF-SCY Document 7 Filed 10/09/26 Page 2 of 2