Hakkasan LV, LLC et al v. EZ Lease Property Management, LLC

Filing 31

ORDER STRIKING DEFENDANT'S FILINGS. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants motion 27 , 28 , 29 is STRICKEN as improperly filed in proper person. Signed by Judge Andrew P. Gordon on 12/31/2014. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DKJ)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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HAKKASAN LV, LLC, a Nevada limited
liability company, HAKKASAN LIMITED,
a foreign private limited company,
Plaintiff,

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v.
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EZ LEASE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT,
LLC, also known as EZ LEASE PROPERTYS,
a Nevada limited liability company,

Case No. 2:14-cv-0798-APG-GWF
ORDER STRIKING DEFENDANT’S
FILINGS
(Dkt. ## 27, 28, 29, 30)

Defendant.

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Defendant filed a Motion to Set Aside Default and Default Judgment and Writ, a Request

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for Evidentiary Hearing and/or Discovery Regarding Service, and a Motion for Stay of Execution

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of Judgment. (Dkt. ##27, 28 and 29.) Plaintiffs moved to strike those filings because Defendant,

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a business entity, improperly filed them in proper person rather than by a lawyer. (Dkt. #30.)

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Corporations must be represented by licensed counsel when they appear in federal court.

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Rowland v. California Men's, Unit II Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 202 (1993); see also

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United States v. High Country Broad. Co., 3 F.3d 1244 (9th Cir. 1993). “As the courts have

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recognized, the rationale for that rule applies equally to all artificial entities.” Rowland, 506 U.S.

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at 202. The Ninth Circuit has not yet addressed whether this rule applies to limited liability

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companies, but those circuits that have addressed the issue have concluded that it does. See

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United States v. Hagerman, 545 F.3d 579 (7th Cir. 2008); Lattanzio v. COMTA, 481 F.3d 137,

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140 (2d Cir. 2007)(internal citation omitted)(“Because both a partnership and a corporation must

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appear through licensed counsel, and because a limited liability company is a hybrid of the

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partnership and corporate forms . . . , a limited liability company also may appear in federal court

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only through a licensed attorney.”).

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Courts in this federal district have followed Rowland’s direction that all artificial entities,
including LLCs, must be represented by counsel. See, e.g., Neumont Univ., LLC v. Little Bizzy,

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LLC, No. 2:12-CV-1395-JAD-PAL, 2014 WL 2112938, at *2 (D. Nev. May 20, 2014); Donovan

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v. Flamingo Palms Villas, LLC, 2011 WL 1046836 (D.Nev. 2011); Wang v. County of Nye, 2010

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WL 4553448 (D. Nev. 2010). I agree with Rowland’s rationale and see no reason to differ.

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s motion (Dkt. ##27, 28, 29) is STRICKEN
as improperly filed in proper person.
Dated: December 31, 2014.

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ANDREW P. GORDON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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