Hall v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC et al

Filing 15

MEMORANDUM & ORDER: Plaintiff Anthony W. Hall is a nonattorney trustee, and as such, he may not bring this suit on behalf of the trust in this Court unless represented by an attorney. Accordingly, the Court will stay the case for 30 days to give plaintiff the opportunity to obtain counsel. If plaintiff does not appear by a licensed attorney admitted to practice before this Court within 30 days, the case will be dismissed without prejudice. SO ORDERED by Judge Eric N. Vitaliano, on 11/22/2013. C/mailed. (Latka-Mucha, Wieslawa)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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ANTHONY W. HALL, as Trustee for B.A.H.
Private Interest Foundation Holdings Trust,
Plaintiff,

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

-against-

13-cv-05550 (ENV) (CLP)

NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC,
AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE CORP.,
HOMEW ARD RESIDENTIAL, INC.,
MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION:
SYSTEMS, INC. (MERS), FEDERAL
NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION,
BRADY NICHAS, MATTHEW J.
JOHNSTONE, JOHN/JANE DOE,
Defendants.
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VITALIANO, D.J.,
Plaintiff Anthony W. Hall, appearing pro se in his capacity as trustee for
B.A.H. Private Interest Foundation Holdings Trust (the "trust"), commenced this
action in Supreme Court, Kings County, asserting various state and federal law
claims against the defendants relating to a mortgage loan. Defendants Nationstar
Mortgage LLC ("Nationstar"), Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.
("MERS"), and Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae")
(collectively, the "Nationstar defendants") removed the suit to this Court on
1

October 8, 2013, on the grounds of federal question and diversity jurisdiction. Hall

These defendants assert that they are the only defendants who have been served in this
action.

1

has filed a motion to remand to state court.
Discussion
It is settled law that an artificial entity, such as a trust, "may not appear in a

lawsuit ... except through an attorney." Grace v. Bank Leumi Trust Co. of NY, 443
F.3d 180, 192 (2d Cir. 2006) (quoting SEC v. Research Automation Corp., 521 F.2d
585 (2d Cir. 1975»; Bell v. S. Bay European Corp., 486 F. Supp. 2d 257, 259
(S.D.N.Y. 2007) ("A trust is deemed an artificial entity for the purposes of the rule
barring a nonlawyer trustee from representing the interests of the trust."); see also

Jones v. Niagara Frontier Transp. Auth., 722 F.2d 20, 22 (2d Cir. 1983) (explaining
reasoning for this rule).
Hall is a nonattorney trustee, and as such, he may not bring this suit on
behalf ofthe trust in this Court unless represented by an attorney.2 Accordingly,
the Court will stay the case for 30 days to give plaintiff the opportunity to obtain
counsel. If plaintiff does not appear by a licensed attorney admitted to practice
before this Court within 30 days, the case will be dismissed without prejudice.

2

The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that Hall is not a licensed attorney in either New
York State or this district.

2

Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, the case is stayed for 30 days. If plaintiff does
not appear by a licensed attorney admitted to practice before this Court within 30
days of the entry of this Order on the docket, the complaint will be dismissed
without prejudice.
SO ORDERED.
Dated: Brooklyn, New York
November 22,2013

/S/ Judge Eric N. Vitaliano
ERIC N. VITALIANO
United States District Judge

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