Society of Apostolic Church Ministries v. United States

1 WO [5] 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA [8] 9 Society of Apostolic Church Ministries, et al., No. CV-21-08277-PCT-DJH 10 Plaintiffs, ORDER 11 v. 12 United States of America, 13 Defendant. [14] Pending before the Court is non-party Elizabeth Gardner’s Application to Proceed [15] in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Cost (Doc. 2). Although Ms. Gardner’s [16] Application, signed under penalty of perjury, indicates that she is financially unable to pay [17] the filing fee, Ms. Gardner, as an individual, is not a Plaintiff to this action. [18] The Plaintiffs listed in the Civil Cover Sheet are Society of Apostolic Church [19] Ministries and Bishop Elizabeth Gardner, Corporation Sole. (Doc. 2 at 1). Ms. Gardner, [20] presumably as an authorized representative of the corporate Plaintiffs, seeks to represent [21] these entities in a pro se capacity. A pro se litigant, however, may not represent a corporate [22] entity. Russell v. United States, 308 F.2d 78, 79 (9th Cir. 1962) (“A litigant appearing in [23] propria persona has no authority to represent anyone other than himself”); Church of the [24] New Testament v. United States, 783 F.2d 771, 774 (9th Cir. 1986) (An individual cannot [25] represent a corporation, and a corporation cannot represent itself as a pro se plaintiff). [26] Accordingly, the Court will order that within twenty-one (21) days of this Order, a [27] licensed attorney shall appear on behalf of the Society of Apostolic Church Ministries and [28] Bishop Elizabeth Gardner, Corporation Sole. Absent a notice of appearance for these Plaintiffs, the Complaint shall be dismissed without prejudice. 2 In accordance with the above, 3 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Doc. 2) is DENIED. 5 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within twenty-one (21) days of this Order, || Plaintiffs must pay the required filing fee and a licensed attorney shall appear on behalf of 7\| the Society of Apostolic Church Ministries and Bishop Elizabeth Gardner, Corporation 8 || Sole. 9 IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that if Plaintiffs do not pay the filing fee and/or a 10 || Notice of Appearance is not filed within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this Order, 11 || the Clerk of Court shall dismiss this action, without prejudice, without further Order of the Court. 13 Dated this 4th day of January, 2022. [14] 15 Ye SZ 16 norable' Diang/4. Hunfetewa 17 United States District Fudge [28] _2-