Naghavi v. Belter Health Measurement and Analysis Technology Co., Ltd.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Marilyn L. Huff (author)
Analysis
The court considered the status of Defendant Belter Health Measurement and Analysis Technology Co., Ltd. after its counsel moved to withdraw and the defendant failed to retain substitute counsel by the previously set deadline. The court extended the deadline for the defendant to obtain and enter new counsel to January 12, 2022, warning that failure to comply risks default judgment and monetary sanctions.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Extended the deadline for Defendant Belter Health Measurement and Analysis Technology Co., Ltd. to obtain substitute counsel and enter an appearance to January 12, 2022.“The Court orders Belter Health Measurement and Analysis Technology Co., Ltd. to obtain new counsel and for the new counsel to enter an appearance in this case on or before Wednesday, January 12, 2022.” | agree with court The court correctly identified that a corporate defendant must be represented by counsel to appear in court, citing Local Rule 83.3(g). Given the defendant's failure to respond to the previous order, granting a final 30-day extension with explicit warnings of default and sanctions is a standard and reasonable exercise of the court's inherent authority to manage its docket and ensure the presence of parties. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly applies the local rule requiring corporate representation, cites the appropriate federal rule and Ninth Circuit precedent regarding the consequences of non-compliance (default), and issues a clear, final deadline with adequate warning. There are no significant gaps in the reasoning for this specific procedural order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 DR. MORTEZA NAGHAVI, M.D., an Case No.: 3:20-cv-01723-H-KSC individual; MEDITEX CAPITAL, LLC, a 13 Delaware limited liability company; and ORDER EXTENDING THE 14 AMERICAN HEART DEADLINE FOR DEFENDANT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, a Delaware BELTER HEALTH MEASUREMENT 15 limited liability company, AND ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY 16 CO., LTD. TO OBTAIN Plaintiffs, SUBSTITUTE COUNSEL 17 v. 18 BELTER HEALTH MEASUREMENT 19 AND ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., a China corporation; ZHUHAI 20 HENGQIN XUANYUAN NO. 8 21 EQUITY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (LIMITED 22 PARTNERSHIP), a China limited 23 partnership; and DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, 24 25 Defendants. 26 On September 8, 2021, the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP and its current and former 27 attorneys, Peter M. Stone, Danli C. Guo, and Kevin J. White (collectively, “Paul 28 Hastings”), filed a motion to withdraw as counsel of record for Defendant Belter Health 1 || Measurement and Analysis Technology Co., Ltd. (“Defendant”). (Doc. No. 38.) On 2 || October 27, 2021, the Court entered an Order directing the Defendant to obtain substitute 3 ||counsel on or before November 26, 2021. (Doc. No. 39.) Paul Hastings filed a notice 4 || stating that it had delivered the Court’s Order to the Defendant on October 28, 2021. (Doc. 5 ||No. 40.) Defendant has not filed a response to the Court’s Order or otherwise indicated 6 || that it has retained substitute counsel. 7 Since Defendant is a corporation, it must be represented by counsel in order to appear 8 this action. Civ. L.R. 83.3G) (“[C]orporations, partnerships and other legal entities, may 9 || appear in court only through an attorney”). The Court will grant Defendant an additional 10 ||30 days from the date of this Order to obtain substitute counsel. However, Defendant 11 ||should take note that failure to retain counsel and comply with this Order risks the Court 12 || entering default judgment. See U.S. v. High Country Broadcasting Co., Inc., 3 F.3d 1244, 13 || 1245 (9th Cir. 1993); Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 55. Further, failure to comply with a court order 14 result in monetary sanctions. The Court orders Belter Health Measurement and 15 || Analysis Technology Co., Ltd. to obtain new counsel and for the new counsel to enter an 16 || appearance in this case on or before Wednesday, January 12, 2022. 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 || DATED: December 13, 2021 | | | | | 19 MARILYN BP. HUFF, Distri ge 20 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28