Radioshack Corporation v. Phone Shack, LLC

Full title: RADIOSHACK CORPORATION; and TRS QUALITY, INC., Plaintiffs, v. PHONE SHACK…

Court: United States District Court, D. Colorado

Date published: Oct 7, 2010

Civil Action No. 10-cv-01882-MSK-BNB (D. Colo. Oct. 7, 2010)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 10-cv-01882-MSK-BNB.

October 7, 2010

ORDER

BOYD BOLAND, Magistrate Judge

This matter arises sua sponte. The plaintiffs filed a Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Damages [Doc. #1] (the "Complaint") on August 6, 2010. They filed Returns of Service on both defendants [Docs. #7 and #8] indicating that on September 14, 2010, defendant Roy Dantzman was personally served and Roy Dantzman was served as agent for defendant Phone Shack, LLC. Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the defendants are required to answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint on or before October 5, 2010. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(a)(1)(A)(I).

On October 2, 2010, the court received a letter from defendant Roy Dantzman [Doc. #9] (the "Letter"). The Letter appears to be an attempt to answer the Complaint on behalf of both defendants. However, the defendants may not simply file a letter in response to the Complaint. The defendants' answers must comply with the form and content as set forth in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 10, 11, and 12. See also Appendix of Forms, Forms 1, 2, 30. Moreover, although defendant Roy Dantzman may represent himself in this lawsuit, defendant Phone Shack, LLC, must be represented by counsel. D.C.COLO.LCivR. 11.1A, 83.3D; Wallic v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., 40 F.Supp.2d 1185, 1188 (D.Colo. 1999) ("[A] corporate defendant . . . and a limited liability organization . . . [can] only appear by counsel admitted to the bar of this court"). See also Flora Const. Co. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 307 F.2d 413, 413-14 (10^th Cir. 1962) ("The rule is well established that a corporation can appear in a court of record only by an attorney at law"), cert denied, 371 U.S. 950 (1963); Reeves v. Queen City Transportation, Inc., 10 F.Supp.2d 1181, 1188 (D.Colo. 1998) ("It has been the law, for the better part of two centuries, that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney"). Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that the Letter is STRICKEN.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before October 21, 2010, the defendants shall answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint in compliance with the Federal Rules of Procedure, the local rules of this court, and this order.

Dated October 7, 2010.