M.W.T. Auto Sales LLC v. Mid-Atlantic Finance Co., Inc., 8:24-cv-01071

Plaintiff M.W.T. Auto Sales LLC, a limited liability company, filed a breach of contract action against Mid-Atlantic Finance Co., Inc., and another defendant.
Mid-Atlantic moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, while another defendant answered.
Plaintiff’s attorneys withdrew due to irreconcilable differences, and the Court ordered Plaintiff to retain new counsel by a specified date.
Plaintiff, attempting to proceed pro se, asked for and received an extension to obtain new counsel, but did not comply with the new deadline and did not request a further extension.
Defendant moved for involuntary dismissal under Rule 41(b) because Plaintiff failed to obtain counsel and thus failed to comply with the Court’s order.
Plaintiff did not respond to the motion to dismiss or communicate further with the Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether an LLC must be represented by counsel	No argument presented	LLC cannot proceed pro se, must have counsel	LLC must have counsel; pro se not allowed
Whether failure to obtain counsel merits dismissal	Plaintiff informally opposed, but did not file	Plaintiff failed to comply with court’s order	Dismissal without prejudice granted
Whether more time should be granted	Plaintiff previously requested extension	No further extension warranted	No further extension; case dismissed
Proper remedy for failure to prosecute/obey order	Not addressed	Dismiss under Rule 41(b)	Dismissal without prejudice

Palazzo v. Gulf Oil Corp., 764 F.2d 1381 (11th Cir. 1985) (corporations and LLCs must be represented by counsel in court)
In re Rodriguez, 633 F. App’x 524 (11th Cir. 2015) (corporations cannot appear pro se and must act through counsel)
Goforth v. Owens, 766 F.2d 1533 (11th Cir. 1985) (Rule 41(b) authorizes dismissal for failure to prosecute or comply with court order)