Elzey v. Huntington County Sheriff Department

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION

KORTNEY LEE ELZEY, CHOICE CONTRACTORS, LLC, and HUNTINGTON GENERAL CONTRACTORS,

Plaintiffs,

v. CAUSE NO. 1:24-CV-317-DRL-MGG

HUNTINGON COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT, CHRIS NEWTON, 24/7 TOWING, LLC, and UNKNOWN DEPUTIES,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Defendants Huntington County Sheriff’s Department and Chris Newton removed this case from the Huntington Circuit Court. ECF 1. Defendant 24/7 Towing consented to removal. Id. at 4. The complaint asserts all three plaintiffs are Indiana business entities: Choice Contractors, LLC, “is a limited liability company,” id. ¶ 6; Huntington General Contractors “is owned and under operational agreement by Choice Contractors, LLC,” id. ¶ 7; and Kortney Elzey “is a limited liability company.” Id. at 8. The complaint in this case is not signed by an attorney. It was signed only by Kortney Elzey, a prisoner at the Huntington County Jail. Id. at 12. The complaint says Mr. Elzey “is the controlling manager (Chief Executive Officer)” of Choice Contractors and Huntington General Contractors, but he is not an attorney. Id. ¶ 6, 7. First, a corporation . . . is legally incapable of appearing in court unless represented by counsel — “corporations must appear by counsel or not at all.” Scandia Down Corp. v. Euroquilt, Inc., 772 F.2d 1423, 1427 (7th Cir. 1985); accord, United States v. Hagerman, 549 F.3d 536, 537 (7th Cir. 2008) (extending rule to limited liability companies). Philos Techs., Inc. v. Philos & D, Inc., 645 F.3d 851, 857-58 (7th Cir. 2011). Eight other filings by the plaintiffs are similarly unsigned. ECF 6, 7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18. “The court must strike an unsigned paper unless the omission is promptly corrected . . ..” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a). Unless the plaintiffs’ filings are promptly signed, they will be stricken. For these reasons, the court GRANTS the plaintiffs until August 26, 2024, to file signed copies of ECF 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18; and CAUTIONED if they do not respond by the deadline, those filing will be stricken as required by Rule 11(a) and this case dismissed without further notice. SO ORDERED.

August 15, 2024 s/ Damon R. Leichty Judge, United States District Court