Reported / Citable
Background
Ciarra Parson sued Mattress Depot, LLC and The Gaylord Group, Inc., each doing business as The Mattress Depot. The defendants answered after receiving an extension, and the parties later reported that they had settled and intended to submit an agreed judgment. They ultimately notified the court that they could not reach an agreement.
The defendants’ attorneys subsequently obtained permission to withdraw. Because corporate entities may not represent themselves in federal court, the court ordered the defendants to retain new counsel by March 5, 2024, and warned that failure to do so could result in their pleadings being stricken. The defendants did not retain counsel or otherwise respond, and Parson moved for default judgment.
The Court’s Holding
Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett recommended striking the defendants’ answer. The report explained that corporations cannot appear in federal court without licensed counsel and that striking a corporate defendant’s pleadings is an available discretionary response when the entity remains unrepresented after an express warning and an opportunity to obtain counsel.
The magistrate judge also recommended denying Parson’s motion for default judgment without prejudice as premature. The defendants’ answer remained on file unless and until the district judge adopted the recommendation to strike it. Even if the answer were stricken, Parson first had to request and obtain an entry of default from the clerk before moving for default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55.
Key Takeaways
- A corporation or other fictional legal person cannot appear pro se in federal court and must be represented by licensed counsel.
- A court may strike an unrepresented corporate defendant’s pleadings after warning the defendant and providing an opportunity to retain counsel.
- A plaintiff ordinarily must obtain the clerk’s entry of default before seeking a default judgment.
Why It Matters
The recommendation illustrates that losing counsel can expose a corporate defendant to serious procedural consequences, including the striking of an answer, if replacement counsel is not retained by the court’s deadline.
It also underscores that striking a defendant’s answer does not automatically entitle the plaintiff to a default judgment. The plaintiff must still follow Rule 55’s sequence by establishing default, securing the clerk’s entry of default, and only then seeking judgment.