Newman v. Maceno Pizza LLC
- Kandis Westmore
- 4:25-cv-01105
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Newman v. Maceno Pizza, Judge Westmore struck the LLC owner’s attempted response and warned that failing to retain counsel could lead to default judgment.
Maceno Pizza LLC must respond through a licensed attorney rather than through Juraci Maceno Filho. The court warned that failing to respond by March 18, 2025, could ultimately lead to default judgment.
What happened
John Newman sued Maceno Pizza LLC, doing business as Monza Pizzeria. Juraci Maceno Filho, identified as the LLC’s owner, filed a statement denying the complaint’s allegations.
The court explained that an LLC must appear through a licensed attorney. Filho was not licensed to practice in California or admitted to practice in the district, so the court struck his statement to the extent it was intended as the LLC’s answer.
The court also warned that Maceno Pizza LLC’s failure to respond by March 18, 2025, could ultimately result in default judgment. Judge Kandis Westmore issued the order striking the statement; the court did not enter default judgment in this order.
The detailed version
- Newman v. Maceno Pizza LLC · No. 4:25-cv-01105
- Kandis Westmore
- Mar. 5, 2025
Background
John Newman sued Maceno Pizza LLC, doing business as Monza Pizzeria. Juraci Maceno Filho, identified as the owner of Maceno Pizza LLC, filed a statement denying the allegations in the complaint.
Court’s reasoning
The court stated that a limited liability company must appear in court through an attorney. Filho was not licensed to practice law in California and was not admitted to practice in the Northern District of California. Therefore, to the extent his statement could be understood as Maceno Pizza LLC’s answer, it was not a valid filing for the LLC.
Ruling and effect
The court struck Filho’s statement under its inherent powers. The court also warned that Maceno Pizza LLC’s failure to respond to the complaint by March 18, 2025, could ultimately result in default judgment. This order did not enter default judgment. Judge Kandis Westmore issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.