Earlycutt Family Trust (An Express Trust by v. Complete Cash Holdings, LLC

Full title: EARLYCUTT FAMILY TRUST (AN EXPRESS TRUST BY AND THROUGH ITS…

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATHENS DIVISION

Date published: Aug 5, 2015

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-CV-30 (CAR) (M.D. Ga. Aug. 5, 2015)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-CV-30 (CAR)

08-05-2015

EARLYCUTT FAMILY TRUST (AN EXPRESS TRUST BY AND THROUGH ITS TRUSTEE-FIDUCIARY) D.J. ASANTE, TRUSTEE-FIDUCIARY, Plaintiff, v. COMPLETE CASH HOLDINGS, LLC, Defendant.

C. ASHLEY ROYAL UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO OBTAIN COUNSEL

Currently before the Court is Plaintiff Earlycutt Family Trust's Amended Complaint [Doc. 6], filed by its trustee-fiduciary, D.J. Asante, who seeks to have the trust proceed pro se and in forma pauperis. Although in federal courts, "parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel,"¹ they cannot "represent[] . . . the interest of others."² Non-natural persons or artificial entities such as corporations, partnerships, associations, and trusts, may appear in federal court only through licensed counsel.³ D.J. Asante filed this Amended Complaint as the fiduciary-trustee of the Earlycutt Family Trust, an express trust, but he not a member of the State Bar of Georgia, and does not appear to be an attorney. Any claim that he is the "real party in interest" under Rule 17(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and therefore authorized to represent the Trust does not alter the requirement that the trust must be represented by counsel. Rule 17(a)(1) does not allow non-lawyer trustees to represent the trust in court.⁴ Moreover, only natural persons may proceed in forma pauperis.⁵ Thus, the Earlycutt Family Trust cannot proceed in forma pauperis, and Plaintiff's Motion requesting such [Doc. 2] is hereby DENIED. ⁶

1 28 U.S.C. § 1654.

2 Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 873 (11th Cir. 2008).

3 See Rowland v. California Men's Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 201-02 (1993).

4 See Knoefler v. United Bank of Bismark, 20 F.3d 347, 348 (8th Cir. 1994); C.E. Pope Equity Trust v. United States, 818 F.2d 696, 698 (9th Cir. 1987).

5 Rowland, 506 U.S. at 203.

6 The Court prior Order granting Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis [Doc. 5] is hereby VACATED. --------

Plaintiff is hereby DIRECTED to obtain counsel within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order and have counsel file a Notice of Appearance and the required filing fee. If no notice of appearance is filed, the Court will dismiss this case without prejudice.

SO ORDERED, this 5th day of August, 2015.

S/ C. Ashley Royal

C. ASHLEY ROYAL

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT