Henry v. Central Freight Lines, Inc.

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA | Rickey Henry, No. 2:16-cv-00280-KJM-JDP 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER 13 Vv.

14 Central Freight Lines, Inc., et al., 1S Defendants.

17 Counsel for defendant Central Freight Lines, Inc. has withdrawn, and the company has not | obtained substitute counsel. See Mot. Withdraw, ECF No. 130; Min. Order, ECF No. 132. “It is | a longstanding rule that ‘[c]orporations and other unincorporated associations must appear in | court through an attorney.’” D—Beam Ltd. Partnership v. Roller Derby Skates, Inc., 366 F.3d 21 | 972, 973-74 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Licht v. Am. W. Airlines In re Am. W. Airlines), 40 F.3d 22 | 1058, 1059 (9th Cir. 1994)). This District’s Local Rules enforce that bar. See E.D. Cal. L.R. | 183(a). When a corporation does not appear by counsel, its answer may be stricken. See Emp.

24 | Painters’ Tr. v. Ethan Enters., Inc., 480 F.3d 993 (9th Cir. 2007). The unopposed motion to | strike Central Freight Lines’ answer (ECF No. 140) is thus granted, and the clerk’s office is | instructed to enter default against Central Freight Lines. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). ] The status (pretrial scheduling) conference currently set for September 22, 2022 is | vacated. Plaintiff is directed to file a status report within fourteen days, proposing a schedule | for adjudicating this putative class action. Cf Cortes v. Nat’l Credit Adjusters, L.L.C., | No. 16-00823, 2017 WL 3284797, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2017) (“[E]ntry of default does not | alter the Court’s analysis for class certification.” (quoting Whitaker v. Bennett L., PLLC, | No. 13-3145, 2014 WL 5454398, at *3 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2014)).

7 IT IS SO ORDERED.

8 DATED: July 8, 2022. [ (] 9 ( ti / { q_/ CHIEF NT] ED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE