Girty v. Paradigm Collection LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted Plaintiff John Girty’s motion to strike Paradigm Collection LLC’s answer because the limited liability company remained unrepresented after its counsel withdrew. The court directed the Clerk to enter default against Paradigm Collection LLC, vacated the remaining case deadlines, and ordered Plaintiff to file a motion for default judgment within 60 days after entry of default.

Holdings

1. A limited liability company may not appear in propria persona and may appear in the district court only through counsel; therefore, the Court properly struck Paradigm Collection LLC's answer after its counsel withdrew and no replacement counsel appeared.
2. Default was appropriate because Defendant failed to obtain counsel after its attorney withdrew and after the Court ordered it to do so; the Court therefore directed the Clerk to enter default against Paradigm Collection LLC.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Court should strike a limited liability company's answer when the entity is unrepresented by counsel.
2. Whether the Court should direct the Clerk to enter default after striking the answer because the entity failed to obtain counsel despite a court order.

Disposition

other