FITZGERALD v. MURRAY

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION

MICHAEL FITZGERALD, ) WORLD WISDOM, INC., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) No. 1:21-cv-01822-TWP-TAB ) MAUDE MURRAY, ) BEACON BOOKS AND MEDIA, LTD, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER ON PENDING MOTIONS

Before the Court are motions for assistance with recruiting counsel filed by Defendant Maude Murray [Filing No. 30] and Defendant Beacon Books and Media, LTD [Filing No. 27], as well as what purports to be a motion to request a telephone status conference [Filing No. 26] filed by Defendant Beacon Books, signed by Mohammed Raza-ul-haq Jamil Chishti. The Court first addresses Beacon Books' motions. Beacon Books is a corporation. "A corporation is not permitted to litigate in a federal court unless it is represented by a lawyer licensed to practice in that court." U.S. v. Hagerman, 545 F.3d 579, 581 (7th Cir. 2008). Chishti is the registered agent of the corporation, but he is not an attorney, nor is he a named party in this case. Thus, while Chishti can, as the agent for Beacon Books, seek out and hire an attorney on behalf of Beacon Books, Chishti cannot himself represent Beacon Books in federal court by filing motions and other documents on its behalf. Accordingly, the motions to request a telephone status conference [Filing No. 26] and for assistance with recruiting counsel [Filing No. 27] that Chishti has attempted to file on behalf of Beacon Books are denied as improperly being filed by a corporation unrepresented by legal counsel. The Court previously struck a motion for dismissal filed by Chishti for the same reason. [Filing No. 15.] Chishti should cease filing documents on behalf of Beacon Books. Defendant Murray's motion for assistance with recruiting counsel is also denied. Murray has both an undergraduate and a master's degree1 from Harvard University and can read and

write in English, and this case is not overly complex. [Filing No. 30, at ECF p. 2.] While Murray notes that she is 82 years old and hard of hearing, she has not indicated to the Court that she suffers from any mental or physical issues that would prevent her from being able to litigate this matter. She ambiguously claims she contacted three lawyers but did not provide the Court with any information regarding the law firms or attorneys contacted. More effort to contact an attorney could be made; three attempts is not sufficient. Murray previously has brought at least four separate lawsuits, and she litigated all these lawsuits pro se. [Filing No. 34, at ECF p. 2.] In addition, in 1995, Murray faced criminal charges for violation of a protective order, and she chose to dismiss her court-appointed public defender in those proceedings.

Moreover, Murray has not set forth evidence that she is unable to afford an attorney. She checked a box indicating that she has not previously filed a request to proceed in forma pauperis and that she was now attaching an original IFP application showing her financial status. However, no such application was attached with her motion. She noted in the motion that she lives off a pension but did not provide any financial information to the Court. Murray's mailing address on file indicates that she is in Pakistan. Appointing a lawyer to represent an individual

1 Plaintiffs point out that Murray's Book Third Wife of the Muslim Shaykh Frithjof Schuon reveals that she has master's degrees in library science and another one in Semitic languages. [Filing No. 34, at ECF p. 1.] located in a foreign country under these circumstances is not a good use of court resources. Therefore, Murray's motion [Filing No. 30] is also denied. For these reasons, both motions for assistance with recruiting counsel and Beacon Books' motion for a telephone conference [Filing No. 26; Filing No. 27; and Filing No. 30] are denied. Date: 9/14/2021 Le □□□ Tim A. Baker United States Magistrate Judge Southern District of Indiana

Distribution: All ECF-registered counsel of record via email MAUDE MURRAY c/o Dilawar khan, Son of Abdul Qayyum Mandroch Khurd P.O. Nawan Shehr Abbottabad KPK Pakistan Mohammed Raza-ul-haq Jamil Chishti Earl Business Centre, Dowry Street OldahamOL8 2 PF, UK