Kyriba Corp. v. Provida Commercial Finance ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KYRIBA CORP., a Delaware Case No.: 3:19-cv-1690-L-LL Corporation, 12 ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 STRIKE ANSWER AND ENTER v. DEFAULT 14 PROVIDA COMMERCIAL FINANCE, a 15 Canadian Entity; DOES 1 through 20, 16 inclusive, 17 Defendants. 18 19 Pending before the Court in this breach of contract action is Plaintiff’s motion to 20 strike Defendant’s answer and enter default. Defendant did not oppose the motion. 21 Plaintiff's motion is therefore granted as unopposed. See Civ. Loc. Rule 7.1.f.3.c; 22 Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53-54 (9th Cir. 1995). 23 Alternatively, the motion is granted pursuant to United States v. High Country 24 Broadcasting Co., Inc., 3 F.3d 1244 (9th Cir. 1993) (default entered against 25 unrepresented entity). Defendant Provida Commercial Finance is a Canadian business 26 entity. (Doc. no. 1 at 1; doc. no. 9 at 1.) Defendant, represented by counsel, timely 27 answered the complaint. (See doc. no. 9.) On February 14, 2020, Defendant’s counsel 28 filed a motion to withdraw, which was granted on February 18, 2020. (Doc. nos. 25, 26.) 1 February 19, 2020, Magistrate Judge Linda Lopez issued an order vacating the 2 || settlement conference, informing Defendant that “in the Southern District of California, a 3 || corporate entity cannot appear pro se,” and setting March 4, 2020 as the date by which 4 || Defendant must enter appearance of new counsel. (Doc. no. 27 (citing Civ. Loc. R. 5 ||83.3q).) Nevertheless, no counsel has entered an appearance on Defendant’s behalf to 6 ||date. On April 6, 2020, Plaintiff filed the pending motion to strike the answer and enter 7 || default pursuant to Civil Local Rule 83.3. The motion was served on Defendant (see doc. 8 28-3), however Defendant has not responded. 9 As a business entity, Defendant is not able to proceed unrepresented: 10 Only natural persons representing their individual interests in propria ll persona may appear in court without representation by an attorney .... All other parties, including corporations, partnerships and other legal entities, 12 may appear in court only through an attorney admitted to practice pursuant 13 to Civil Local Rule 83.3. 14 || Civ. Loc. Rule 83.3.j; see also High Country Broadcasting, 3 F.3d at 1245. When a 15 || business entity fails to retain counsel, it is appropriate for to strike its answer and enter 16 default. See id.; see also Employee Painters’ Trust v. Ethan Enterprises, Inc., 480 F.3d 17 ||993, 998 (9th Cir. 2007). 18 Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion to strike Defendant’s answer and enter default is 19 || granted on this alternative reason. The Clerk of Court shall strike Defendant’s answer 20 (doc. no. 9) and enter default. If Plaintiff intends to move for a default judgment 21 || pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b), it must file its motion no later than the 22 specified in Civil Local Rule 55.1. 23 IT IS SO ORDERED. 24 Dated: August 21, 2020 1 fee fp %6 H . James Lorenz, United States District Judge 27 28