Shim v. Luxury Asset Capital, LLC

Opinion

USONUITTEHDE RSTNA DTIESST RDIICSTT ROIFC TN ECWOU YROTR K ---------------------------------------------------------------------- X : JUNSUB SHIM, : : Plaintiff, : : -v- : 24 Civ. 9738 (JPC) : CARMICHAEL GALLERY, LLC and SETH : ORDER CARMICHAEL, : : Defendants. : : ---------------------------------------------------------------------- X

JOHN P. CRONAN, United States District Judge:

On March 6, 2026, this Court ordered Plaintiff to correct a jurisdictional “deficiency” by filing “supporting papers [to] establish the citizenship of the . . . members” of Defendant Carmichael Gallery, LLC. Dkt. 72 at 2-3. Plaintiff’s counsel’s declaration in support of his motion for default judgment represents that, “upon information and belief, the Gallery’s sole member” is Defendant Seth Carmichael, “an individual with his last known address located in Evergreen, Colorado.” Dkt. 85 ¶ 5; see also id., Exh. 2 (LexisNexis report for Carmichael). The Amended Complaint, in turn, alleges only that “Seth Carmichael is an individual residing in Evergreen, Colorado,” Dkt. 8 ¶ 11, even though “residence alone is insufficient to establish domicile for jurisdictional purposes,” Van Buskirk v. Utd. Grp. of Cos., 935 F.3d 49, 53-54 (2d Cir. 2019). Nor does the current “record as a whole, as supplemented, establish[] the existence of the requisite diversity of citizenship between the parties.” Durant, Nichols, Houston, Hodgson & Cortese-Costa, P.C. v. Dupont (“Durant”), 565 F.3d 56, 64 (2d Cir. 2009). Rather, in moving for substituted service on Carmichael, Plaintiff cited material suggesting that “Carmichael does not live in the [United States],” although Plaintiff was “unable to confirm that Carmichael currently resides outside of the United States.” Dkt. 42 at 4 (internal quotation marks omitted). Yet “[i]t is well established . . . that United States citizens who are domiciled abroad are neither citizens of any state of the United States nor citizens or subjects of a foreign state, and [Section] 1332(a) does not provide that the courts have jurisdiction over a suit to which such persons are parties,” meaning that “a suit by or against United States citizens domiciled abroad may not be premised on diversity.” Force v. Facebook, Inc., 934 F.3d 53, 74-75 (2d Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). A default judgment hearing is currently set for May 19, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. See Dkt. 87. If Plaintiff intends to proceed with the hearing at that time, then he must further establish that Carmichael is domiciled in a state of the United States, rather than abroad, no later than May 15, 2026. See Durant, 565 F.3d at 64. If Plaintiff seeks an adjournment of the hearing in order to adequately supplement the record or further amend his Complaint (provided that he has a good faith basis to do so), then he must so inform the Court by that same date. SO ORDERED. Wha Dated: May 13, 2026 of New York, New York JOHN P. CRONAN United States District Judge