USDC SDNY DOCUMENT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ELECTRONICALLY FILED SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DOC #: DATE FILED: 9/13/2023 Fred Alston, as a Trustee of the LOCAL 272 LABOR-MANAGEMENT PENSION FUND; Fred Alston, as a Trustee of the LOCAL 272 WELFARE FUND, 23 Civ. 6289 (JHR) Plaintiffs, ORDER -V.- 3100 MP PARKING INC., Defendant. JENNIFER H. REARDEN, District Judge: On July 27, 2023, Defendant 3100 MP Parking Inc. was served with the Summons and Complaint. See ECF No. 7. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, Defendant was required to respond to the Complaint by August 17, 2023. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A)(i). On September 1, 2023, after that deadline had passed, the Clerk of Court entered a Certificate of Default. ECF No. 11. On September 12, 2023, Defendant’s Chief Operating Officer Curity Jeffry filed a letter, pro se, which purports to be an “Answer” “to Vacate the Default Judgment.” ECF No. 12. Defendant’s request is DENIED. A corporation, which is an artificial entity, may only appear in federal court through a licensed attorney; a corporation may not appear pro se. See

; Jones v. Niagara Frontier Transp. Auth.,

, 22 (2d Cir. 1983) (“Although

... . provides that ‘[i]n all courts of the United States[,] the parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel,’ it is established that a corporation, which 1s an artificial entity that can only act through agents, cannot proceed pro se.”). This rule “has been applied to dismiss any action or motion filed by a corporation

purporting to act pro se.” Grace v. Bank Leumi Trust Co. of N.Y.,

(2d Cir. 2006). Therefore, Defendant’s request is a “nullity.” Batac Dev. Corp. v. B&R Consultants, Inc., No. 98 Civ. 721 (CSH),

, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 23, 2000) (denying motion for relief from judgment filed pro se by principal of corporation); see US JVC Corp. v. Caribbean Wholesales & Serv. Corp., No. 93 Civ. 4853 (PKL),

, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 10, 1993) (holding that motion to dismiss filed by defendant corporation pro se “cannot be considered by the Court as a proper response to the complaint under [Federal] Rule [of Civil Procedure] 12”). Accordingly, within 30 days of service of this Order, Defendant shall obtain representation through a licensed attorney to appear in this case. The failure to do so may constitute grounds for entry of a default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55. See City of New York v. Mickalis Pawn Shop, LLC,

(2d Cir. 2011); Grace,

; Eagle Assocs. v. Bank of Montreal,

(2d Cir. 1991). The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Defendant. SO ORDERED. Dated: September 15, 2023 New York, New York Yor Reardon Recon United States District Judge