Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Once Again, An LLC May Appear in Court Only Through an Attorney


Once Again, An LLC May Appear in Court Only Through an Attorney

Early this summer, the Federal District Court in South Dakota joined the numerous other courts who have expressly stated that an LLC may not appear in court except through an attorney. Heritage Home for Funerals, Inc. v. Heritage Cremation Provider, LLC, No. 4:17-CV-04086-KES, 2019 WL 1981047 (D.S.D. May 3, 2019).

Most of this decision is focused upon service of process and the enforcement of a default judgment against the defendant LLC. The court, however, in commenting upon the efforts by the LLC to appear in court other than through an attorney, rejected that possibility. Citing a number of cases including an unpublished ruling from the Federal District Court for South Dakota and authorities from other jurisdictions including Minnesota, Florida and Oregon, the court wrote that “the rule requiring corporations to be represented by an attorney applies to limited liability companies and corporations with one sole shareholder.”

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