Opinion
Case No. 2:12-cv-01707-MMD-NJK
08-15-2013
BRANCH BANKING & TRUST CO., Plaintiff(s), v. COOLIDGE 234, LLC, et al., Defendant(s).
ORDER RE: MOTION TO
WITHDRAW
(Docket No. 34)
Pending before the Court is a motion to withdraw as attorney. Docket No. 34. Any response shall be filed no later than August 20, 2013. The Court hereby SETS a hearing on the motion for August 27, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 3C. Defendants' attorneys, as well as Juli Koentopp, Bradley Shultis and a corporate representative of Coolidge 234, LLC, are hereby ordered to attend the hearing. Any new counsel retained to represent Defendants in this matter is also ordered to attend. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THESE APPEARANCE REQUIREMENTS. No later than August 20, 2013, Defendants' current counsel of record shall notify Defendants of this order that they appear and shall file a proof of service. With respect to Defendant Coolidge 234, LLC, the Court wishes to highlight that corporations may appear in federal court only through licensed counsel. United States v. High Country Broad. Co., Inc., 3 F.3d 1244, 1245 (9th Cir. 1993).
In addition, it appears that at least one of the individual defendants is currently in bankrutpcy proceedings subject to an automatic stay. See Docket No. 31 (proof of service of notice of bankruptcy); see also Docket No. 33 at 1 n.1 (indicating that both Juli Koentopp and Bradley Sultis have filed bankruptcy petitions). The Court is not inclined to grant a motion to withdraw as to these parties without authority indicating that it is appropriate to do so during the pendency of that stay. See Grzywa v. Alliance Mechanical, Inc., 2:11-cv-00030-APG-NJK (D. Nev. June 25, 2013) (Docket No. 95); see also Rio America Trading Corp. v. Hollywood Film Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. Lexis 172973, *1 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 4, 2012) (rejecting motion to withdraw filed during pendency of automatic stay because no authority was cited indicating that it could be decided). As the pending motion fails to address this issue, Defendants' attorneys are hereby ORDERED to file an additional brief doing so, no later than August 20, 2013.
To the extent Plaintiff has a position on the issue, it may address it in any responsive papers it files.
Lastly, Plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment against Coolidge 234, LLC, on July 31, 2013. See Docket No. 33. The deadline for responding to that motion is hereby VACATED. The Court will set a new deadline for responding to the motion after resolving the motion to withdraw.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge