Gutierrez, et al. v. Carter Brothers Security Services, LLC, et al.

Filing 102

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER signed by District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 09/14/17 GRANTING Gordon & Rees LLP's 88 Motion to Withdraw as Counsel; the Carter Brother's 64 Answer is STRICKEN; and DEFAULT JUDGMENT is entered against Carter Brothers. (Benson, A.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RAMSES GUTIERREZ, individually
and on behalf of all others similarly
situated, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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No. 2:14-cv-00351-MCE-CKD

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

v.
CARTER BROTHERS SECURITY
SERVICES, LLC; AT&T DIGITAL LIFE,
INC.; PACIFIC BELL TELEPHONE
COMPANY dba AT&T DATACOMM,
INC.; AT&T CORP.; and DOES 1
through 10, inclusive,
Defendants.

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On June 27, 2017, this Court denied a motion to withdraw from Gordon & Rees

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LLP, the law firm representing Defendant Carter Brothers Security Services, LLC.

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Because Carter Brothers is not a natural person and therefore cannot represent itself in

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propria persona, see E.D. Cal. L.R. 183(a), the Court exercised its discretion to deny the

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motion and to grant Carter Brothers sixty (60) days to retain new counsel, ECF No. 97.

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The Court also stated that “[i]f new counsel is not retained within sixty (60) days, the

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Court will grant the Motion to Withdraw, strike Carter Brothers’s Answer, and enter

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default judgment against it.” Id. at 2.

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On August 25, 2017—the last day of the 60-day deadline—John Carter, the

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president of Carter Brothers sent a letter to chambers requesting an additional two

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weeks to obtain counsel, which was filed on the docket. ECF No. 99. Because Gordon

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& Rees LLP, however, was still counsel of record for Carter Brothers, and Carter

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Brothers could only appear before this Court through an attorney, see E.D. Cal. L.R.

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183(a) (“A corporation or other entity may appear only by an attorney.”), the letter could

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not be construed as a motion. The Court then ordered that Carter Brothers have until

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September 8, 2017 to seek—through counsel—any modification of the Court’s June 27,

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2017 Memorandum and Order.

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No motion having been filed by Carter Brothers, Gordon & Rees LLP’s Motion to

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Withdraw, ECF No. 88, is now GRANTED. Furthermore, Carter Brothers’s Answer, ECF

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No. 64, is STRICKEN, and default judgment is entered against Carter Brothers.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 14, 2017

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