Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:12-CV-01508
03-21-2013
SELIPPOS TECHNICAL, LTD, Plaintiff, v. FIRST MOUNTAIN BANCORP, et al, Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Pending now before the Court is Michael A. Hawash's ("Hawash") Motion for Leave to Withdraw as Counsel for Selippos Technical Ltd ("Selippos"). (Dkt. 54).
Selippos is the Plaintiff in this case, and Hawash has represented Selippos throughout this lawsuit. On March 11, 2013, Hawash filed a Motion to Withdraw as counsel for Selippos. Hawash's motion asserts that the attorney/client relationship with Selippos has become untenable. He affirms that the motion is brought in good faith and not for purposes of delay.
In federal court, a corporation may not represent itself. Instead, it must be represented by counsel. See, e.g., Memon v. Allied Domecq QSR, 385 F.3d 871, 873 and n.4 (5th Cir. 2004). A court should not automatically dismiss claims or strike pleadings simply because a corporation is not represented by an attorney. Id.
When a corporation's counsel seeks in good faith to withdraw from representation, the court must caution the corporation that it must retain new counsel within a certain amount of time or else be subject to dismissal or the striking of its pleadings. Id. A corporation's failure to retain counsel as ordered has resulted in these types of sanctions in other cases. See, e.g., Adonai Communications, Ltd. v. Awstin Investments, LLC, Civ. A. No. 3:10-CV-2642-L, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35704, 2012 WL 899271, *2 (N.D. Tex. March 16, 2012)(citing several such cases).
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Hawash's Motion to Withdraw and ORDERS that Plaintiff Selippos Technical Ltd. obtain counsel and have counsel enter an appearance by April 30, 2013. If Selippos fails to comply with this Order, its suit will be dismissed for such failure.
SIGNED at Houston, Texas, this 21st day of March, 2013.
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George C. Hanks Jr.
United States Magistrate Judge