Judge: Maren Nelson, Case: 21STCV07577, Date: 2023-09-28 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV07577    Hearing Date: September 28, 2023    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff’s motion to strike Defendant’s answer is GRANTED

            On 2/25/2021, Plaintiff Lucia Rodriguez (Plaintiff) filed suit against Martini Associates Development, LLC (Defendant), alleging: (1) age discrimination; (2) disparate treatment of a medical condition; (3) retaliation; and (4) wrongful termination.

            Now, Plaintiff moves to strike Defendant’s answer. 

            The motion is unopposed.

Discussion

            Plaintiff argues that Defendant’s answer should be stricken because Defendant’s LLC status has been terminated since 12/15/2022 and it is currently not represented by counsel.

            The Court agrees.

Corporations and LLC's are entities which must be in good standing in order to participate in litigation in any court. Moreover, a corporation cannot represent itself in court, either in propria persona or through an officer or agent who is not an attorney. (Nerco Constr. Engineers v Municipal Court (1978) 21 Cal.3d 724, 729.)

            Here, Defendant’s counsel was relieved on 10/13/2022. There is no indication that Defendant has obtained new counsel, despite having had ample time to do so, and Defendant did not oppose this motion to offer any substantial justification for its conduct.

As such, Defendant has indicated that it is either unwilling or unable to participate in this litigation.

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion to strike Defendant’s answer is granted. Plaintiff may seek the entry of default with the Clerk.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  September    , 2023

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.