Dozier v. Condit Properties, LLC ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LEE DOZIER, Case No. 1:23-cv-00758-BAM 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. INFORMATIONAL ORDER FOR SERVICE BY CLERK OF COURT 14 CONDIT PROPERTIES, LLC, 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 Plaintiff Lee Dozier, proceeding through counsel, initiated this action on May 16, 2023, 19 against Defendant Condit Properties, LLC. To date, Defendant Condit Properties, LLC has not 20 answered or appeared. However, the Court has been sent letters and copies of correspondence from 21 Ross N. Condit, an unrepresented individual, which are purportedly on behalf of Defendant Condit 22 Properties, LLC. The parties are advised that corporations, including limited liability corporations, 23 may not appear in any action or proceeding pro se and must be represented by counsel. See 24 Rowland v. California Men's Colony, Unit II Men's Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 202 (1993); 25 D-Beam Ltd. P’ship v. Roller Derby Skates, Inc., 366 F.3d 972, 973-74 (9th Cir. 2004). 26 Accordingly, correspondence sent by Mr. Condit on behalf of the entity defendant has not been, 27 and will not be, filed or otherwise considered by the Court. 28 /// 1 Although the entity defendant may not proceed pro se and must be represented by counsel, 2 the Court, in an abundance of caution, provides the following information relevant to pro se 3 litigants. In litigating this action, the parties must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 4 (F.R.C.P.) and the Local Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California 5 (Local Rules). FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE LOCAL RULES, FEDERAL RULES 6 OR A COURT ORDER, INCLUDING THIS ORDER, WILL BE GROUNDS FOR 7 DISMISSAL OR OTHER APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS. See Local Rule 110; Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 41(b). 9 1. Documents intended to be filed with the Court must be mailed to the Clerk of the 10 Court. See Local Rule 134(a). All documents improperly mailed to a judge’s chambers will 11 be stricken from the record. A document requesting a Court order must be styled as a motion. 12 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 7. 13 2. Each document submitted for filing must include the original signature of the 14 filing party or parties. Local Rule 131; Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). All documents submitted without 15 the required signature(s) will be stricken.1 Each separate document must be separately stapled. 16 See Local Rule 130. If a document is stapled behind another document, it will not be filed and 17 will not be entered on this Court’s docket. 18 3. All documents filed with the Court must be submitted with an additional legible 19 conformed copy for the Court’s use. See Local Rule 133(d)(2). A document submitted without 20 an extra copy for the Court’s use will be stricken. If the filing party wishes the Court to return 21 a file-stamped copy, he or she must include an additional copy for that purpose (i.e., submit an 22 original and two copies, one for the Court’s use and one to be returned). The Court cannot 23 provide copy or mailing service for a party. Therefore, if the filing party wishes a file-stamped 24 copy returned, the party must also provide an envelope with adequate postage pre-paid. Copies of 25 documents from the Court file may be obtained at the cost of 50 cents per page. 26 4. After any defendants have appeared in an action by filing a pleading responsive to 27 the complaint (i.e., an answer or a motion to dismiss), all documents filed with the Court must 28 1 When a document is stricken, it becomes a nullity and is not considered by the Court for any purposes. 1 include a certificate of service stating that a copy of the document was served on the opposing 2 party. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 5; Local Rule 135(c). A document submitted without the required 3 proof of service will be stricken. Where a party is represented, service on the party’s attorney of 4 record constitutes effective service. A sample of a proper proof of service is attached hereto. 5 5. All filings must bear the file number assigned to the action, followed by the initials 6 of the District Court Judge and the Magistrate Judge to whom the case is assigned. 7 6. The Court cannot serve as a repository for the parties’ evidence. The parties may 8 not file evidence with the Court until the course of litigation brings the evidence into question (for 9 example, on a motion for summary judgment, at trial, or when requested by the Court). Evidence 10 improperly submitted to the Court will be stricken and returned to the party. 11 7. All Court deadlines will be strictly enforced. Requests for time extensions must 12 state the reason the extension is needed and must be filed with the Court before the deadline in 13 question. See Local Rule 144. 14 8. An individual proceeding in propria persona has an affirmative duty to keep the 15 Court and opposing parties informed of his or her current address. If an individual appearing in 16 propria persona moves and fails to file a notice of change of address, service of Court orders at 17 the individual’s prior address shall constitute effective notice. See Local Rule 182(f). If mail 18 directed to the individual is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable, the Court will 19 not attempt to re-mail it. 20 9. Due to the press of business, the Court cannot respond to individual requests for 21 the status of cases. Any such requests will be denied. So long as the parties inform the Court of 22 any address changes in compliance with Local Rule 183(b), the Court will notify the parties of 23 any Court action taken in their case. 24 10. Defendant must reply to the complaint within the time provided by the applicable 25 provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a). 26 11. Unless otherwise ordered, all motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, 27 motions concerning discovery, motions pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 7, 11, 12, 15, 41, 55, 56, 59 28 and 60, and motions pursuant to Local Rule 110 shall be briefed pursuant to Local Rule 230. 1 Failure to oppose such a motion timely may be deemed a waiver of opposition to the motion. 2 12. A motion supported by affidavits or declarations that are unsigned will be stricken. 3 13. The failure of any party to comply with this order, the Federal Rules of Civil 4 Procedure, or the Local Rules of Court, may result in the imposition of sanctions including, but 5 not limited to, dismissal of the action or entry of default. 6 The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve this order on Mr. Condit at the mailing address 7 included with his correspondence. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 10 Dated: June 13, 2023 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28