Opinion
Case No. 09-10339.
April 1, 2009
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO SET ASIDE ANSWER OF D.A.V. CONTRACTING, INC.
On March 4, 2009, Defendant David Ventura, a non-attorney, filed an answer to the complaint on behalf of himself and the corporate Defendant, D.A.V. Contracting, Inc. By motion filed on March 10, 2009, Plaintiffs request that this answer be stricken as to D.A.V. Contracting, citing the well-established rule that "a corporation may appear in the federal courts only through licensed counsel." Rowland v. California Men's Colony, Unit II Men's Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 202, 113 S. Ct. 716, 721 (1993); see also United States v. 9.19 Acres of Land, 416 F.2d 1244, 1245 (6th Cir. 1969). While Defendant Ventura suggests in his response to Plaintiffs' motion that this rule may be relaxed in "extraordinary circumstances," he has not even attempted to identify any such circumstances here. Accordingly,
For what it is worth, the Supreme Court has characterized the rare departures from this rule as "aberrant cases" which "neither follow federal precedent, nor have themselves been followed." Rowland, 506 U.S. at 202 n. 5, 113 S. Ct. at 721 n. 5. In any event, this Court is not at liberty to depart from the Sixth Circuit precedent on this issue.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' March 10, 2009 motion to set aside answer of D.A.V. Contracting, Inc. (docket #11) is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the March 4, 2009 answer filed by Defendant David Ventura on his own behalf and on behalf of Defendant D.A.V. Contracting, Inc. is SET ASIDE as to D.A.V. Contracting, Inc. only. Finally, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, within fourteen (14) days of the date of this order, Defendant D.A.V. Contracting, Inc. shall retain counsel and file and serve an answer or other permissible response to Plaintiffs' complaint. Absent such action by this Defendant within this 14-day period, Plaintiffs shall be entitled to pursue any and all appropriate relief against Defendant D.A.V. Contracting, Inc., including a clerk's entry of default and a default judgment.