In re Romeo Power Inc. Securities Litigation
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:21-cv-03362
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In In re Romeo Power, Judge Schofield ordered Romeo Power Inc. to obtain new counsel by July 31, 2023.
Romeo Power, Inc. and its insolvency counsel; the order also sets deadlines affecting the securities litigation.
What happened
In In re Romeo Power Inc. Securities Litigation, the court said an earlier order required new counsel for Romeo to appear by June 30, 2023, but no new counsel had appeared.
The court explained that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney and cannot represent itself without a lawyer.
Judge Schofield ordered new counsel for Romeo to appear by July 31, 2023; otherwise, Romeo’s insolvency counsel must tell the court by August 1 whether any legal impediment prevents entry of a default judgment.
The detailed version
- In re Romeo Power Inc. Securities Litigation · No. 1:21-cv-03362
- Lorna Schofield
- July 10, 2023
Background
An order dated June 6, 2023, required new counsel for Defendant Romeo Power, Inc. ("Romeo") to appear by June 30, 2023. The court stated that new counsel had not appeared.
Court’s Reasoning
The court explained that a corporation is an artificial entity and may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney. A corporation may not appear without a lawyer representing it.
Order
The court ordered new counsel for Romeo to appear by July 31, 2023. If counsel did not appear by that date, Romeo’s insolvency counsel had to inform the court by August 1, 2023, whether any legal impediment existed to the court’s entering a default judgment. The order did not enter a default judgment.
Classification
This is a procedural order concerning corporate representation and deadlines, rather than a decision on the securities litigation’s underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.