Rusch, Steven et al v. McCartan, Gary

Filing 6

ORDER on ifp request: Plaintiff Lorie Rusch to submit an affidavit of indigency by September 19, 2012. Plaintiff Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC may have until September 19, 2012, in which to enter a notice of appearance of a lawyer who will represent this plaintiff in this case. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen L. Crocker on 8/27/2012. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

STEVEN J. RUSCH, LORIE A. RUSCH and
RUSCH EQUIPMENT SALES, LLC,
Plaintiffs,

ORDER

v.
12-cv-521-slc
GARY McCARTAN,
Defendant.

On July 24, 2012, this case was transferred to this court from the Western District of
Kentucky. When plaintiffs Steven Rusch and Lorie Rusch originally filed their proposed
complaint in Kentucky, plaintiff Steven Rusch included a request for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. I will construe plaintiff Lorie Rusch to also request leave to proceed in forma pauperis
in this case. To make a determination as to whether both plaintiffs may proceed without
prepayment of the filing fee, I need to have plaintiff Lorie Rusch submit her own affidavit of
indigency. Accordingly, plaintiff Lorie Rusch may have until September 19, 2012 to submit an
affidavit of indigency. I am enclosing a blank affidavit of indigency form to plaintiff Lorie Rusch
with this order.
There is another matter that requires attention. The case caption of the complaint in this
case lists Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC as a plaintiff, but the complaint is only signed by
plaintiffs Steven Rusch and Lorie Rusch, neither of whom appears to be a licensed attorney. It
is well established that a corporation may appear in the federal courts only through licensed
counsel. Rowland v. California Men's Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 201-02 (1993); Muzikowski v.
Paramount Pictures Corp., 322 F.3d 918, 924 (7th Cir. 2003). This rationale “applies equally to
all artificial entities,” Rowland, 506 U.S. at 202, including limited liability companies or
partnerships. E.g., United States v. Hagerman, No. 08-2670, slip op. at 4-5 (7th Cir. Sept. 26,
2008); Lattanzio v. COMTA, 481 F.3d 137, 140 (2d Cir. 2007); Kipp v. Royal & Sun Alliance

Personal Ins. Co., 209 F. Supp. 2d 962, 963 (E.D. Wis. 2002).

Thus, plaintiff’s Rusch

Equipment Sales, LLC complaint has not been properly filed because it is not signed by an
attorney. Plaintiff Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC will need to be represented by a licensed
attorney in order to proceed in this case.

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that
1. A decision as to whether plaintiffs Steven Rusch and Lorie Rusch may proceed in forma
pauperis in this action is STAYED. Plaintiff Lori Rusch may have until September 19, 2012, in
which to submit an affidavit of indigency and return it to the court. If plaintiff fails to provide
this requested financial information in a timely fashion, then the court will deny her request for
leave to proceed in forma pauperis for failure to show that she is indigent.
2. Plaintiff Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC may have until September 19, 2012, in which
to enter a notice of appearance of a lawyer who will represent this plaintiff in this case. If, by
September 19, 2012, plaintiff Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC does not file a notice of appearance
of counsel, then this plaintiff will be dismissed without prejudice on the court's own motion to
plaintiff Rusch Equipment Sales, LLC's filing suit by counsel at some later date.

Entered this 27th day of August, 2012.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
STEPHEN L. CROCKER
Magistrate Judge
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
Steven J. Rusch, et al..
Full name of plaintiff(s)

Case No.

12-cv-521-slc
(Provided by the clerk of court)

v.
Gary McMartin,
Full name of defendant(s)

PETITION AND AFFIDAVIT TO PROCEED
WITHOUT PREPAYMENT OF FEES AND/OR COSTS
I,
Lorie A. Rusch, declare that I am the plaintiff or petitioner in the above-named action. In
support of my request to proceed in forma pauperis, I declare that I am unable to pay the fees and/or
costs of these proceedings and that I am entitled to the relief sought in the complaint/petition/motion.
I answer the following questions truthfully and under penalty of perjury (additional pages may be
added, if necessary, to provide complete information):
I. Personal Information
1) Are you currently incarcerated?

G Yes

G No

If “No,” go to question 2. Complete all sections.
If “Yes,” answer questions (a), (b) & (c), skip to Section IV. Complete sections IV and V.
(a)

State the place of your incarceration and provide your prisoner identification number:
_______________________________________
(place)

_____________________________
(number)

GYes

(b)

Are you employed at the institution?

(c)

Do you receive any payment from the institution? GYes

G No
G No

If you are a prisoner, attach a printout of your prison trust account statement showing transactions
for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of your complaint, motion, or petition and
showing the balance of your release account. Prisoners who are permitted to file in forma pauperis
must pay the full filing fee in installments.
Personal Information - continued
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2) Are you employed?

GYes

G No

3) Are you currently married?
If “Yes,” is your spouse employed?

G Yes
G Yes

G No
G No

4) Do you have any legal dependents (children/adults) whom you are responsible for supporting?
G Yes
G No
If “Yes,” list them below:
First and Last Initials (For Minor Children
Only) or Name

Relationship to You

Age

Amount of
Support Provided
Per Month

______________________________

_________________

________

$____________

______________________________

_________________

________

$____________

______________________________

_________________

________

$____________

II. Income - If you are married, your answers must include your spouse's income.
(When calculating income, you must include any salary, child support, public assistance, unemployment
compensation, disability payments, life insurance payments, pensions, annuities, workers' compensation, stock
dividends and interest, gifts, and inheritance, or other incoming monies.)

State your total monthly income?

$ ______________

Provide the name of your employer(s): _______________________________________
State your spouse's total monthly income?

$ ______________

State the amount of money you have received from any other source in the last twelve months
(e.g., rent payments, pension or insurance payments, gifts, inheritance, disability or workers’
compensation payments). Please attach an additional sheet if necessary.
Source of income

Amount

______________________________________________

$ ______________________

______________________________________________

$ ______________________

III. Expenses - If you are married and/or have dependents, your expenses should also include your
household's expenses.
(When calculating household expenses, you may include groceries, clothing, medical costs, utilities which are
not included in your rental payments, transportation, and insurance.)

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1) Identify the following amounts that you pay per month:
G Rent or

G Mortgage

$ __________________________________

Car payment(s)

$ __________________________________

Alimony and/or court-ordered child support $ __________________________________
Credit card payment(s)

$ __________________________________

2) Do you have any other monthly expenses that you have not already identified?
G Yes
G No
If “Yes,” list them below:
Expense

Amount

__________________________________

$ __________________________________

__________________________________

$ __________________________________

__________________________________

$ __________________________________

3) What is the total amount of your monthly expenses?

$____________________________

IV. Property - If you are married, your answers must include your spouse's property.
1 ) Do you own a car?

G Yes

G No

If “Yes,” list car(s) below:

Make and Model

Year

Approximate Current Value

_______________________________________________

__________

$___________________________

_______________________________________________

__________

$___________________________

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2) Do you own your residence(s)?

G Yes

G No

If “Yes,” state the approximate value(s). $ ____________________
What is the amount of equity (assessed value of residence minus outstanding
mortgage balance) in the residence(s)? $ ____________________
IV. Property - continued
3) Do you own any other valuable tangible property, including but not limited to, jewelry, artwork,
or antiques?
G Yes
G No
If “Yes,” identify the property and approximate value(s).
Property

Approximate Value

________________________________________________

$______________________

________________________________________________

$______________________

________________________________________________

$______________________

4) Do you have any cash or checking, savings, or other similar accounts? G Yes

G No

If “Yes,” state the total amount of such sums. $ ____________________________________
5) Do you own any intangible property, including but not limited to real estate, stocks, bonds, trusts,
or individual retirement accounts (e.g., IRA, 401 k)?
G Yes
G No
If “Yes,” state the nature of that property and approximate value(s).
____________________________________________________________________________

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V. Other Circumstances - Describe any other financial circumstance(s) that you would like the
court to consider when reviewing this petition.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________
Date

_________________________________________
Signature - Signed Under Penalty of Perjury

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