Return an instance of an inner class from a static method in Java

The following are user requirements which I cannot change: A class with a static interface (all methods are static). One specific method returns an `ArrayList<String>` object and a `File` object. The following is my implementation of the above requirements: An inner class which contains an `ArrayList<String>` object and a `File` object. The specific method initializes an instance of the inner class and returns it at the end. But I am unable to create an instance of the inner class without creating an instance of the outer class: ``` public class Outer { public class Inner { ArrayList<String> strings; File file; } public static Inner method() { Inner inner = new Outer().new Inner(); ... return inner; } } ``` Besides being "ugly", the `new Outer().new Inner()` feels pretty incorrect. Is there a different approach that I can take in order to avoid having to instantiate the outer class?