Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-03422/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-03422-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 870
Nature of Suit: Tax Suits
Cause of Action: 26:7403 Suit to Enforce Federal Tax Lien

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

----oo0oo----

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

CARMON L. COOK, individually,

as Trustee of THE 1993 CARMON

LOUISE COOK LIVING TRUST, and

as Trustee of THE HANDS FROM

THE HEART FOUNDATION; and

BRIAN E. TORRANCE, as Trustee

of THE HANDS FROM THE HEART

FOUNDATION,

Defendants.

 /

NO. CIV. 2:11-03422 WBS GGH

ORDER

----oo0oo----

 In its Complaint, the United States alleges that

“Brian E. Torrance, as Trustee for the Hands from the Heart

Foundation, is made a party pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7403(b)

because it may claim an interest in the property sought to be

foreclosed.” (Compl. ¶ 8.) Specifically, the United States

seeks to foreclose on a parcel of real property that was

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purportedly transferred to the Hands from the Heart Foundation

(“Foundation”). (Id. ¶ 14.) 

Torrance, as Trustee for the Foundation, has been

represented by counsel throughout these proceedings. He now

seeks to substitute himself as counsel of record for the

Foundation. (Docket No. 22.) Torrance does not indicate that he

is an attorney, and the records of the State Bar of California do

not identify him as a licensed attorney in California. 

The Ninth Circuit has held that “[u]nincorporated

associations, like corporations, must appear through an

attorney.” Church of the New Testament v. United States, 783

F.2d 771, 773-74 (9th Cir. 1986); accord In re Am. W. Airlines,

40 F.3d 1058, 1059 (9th Cir. 1994) (“Corporations and other

unincorporated associations must appear in court through an

attorney.”); E.D. Local Rule 183(a) (“A corporation or other

entity may appear only by an attorney.”). As one district court

has explained, “the precise legal status in [the state] of [a]

Foundation is not material--whether its an organization,

foundation, or non-profit corporation, it is not a natural

person, but some type of organization. The rule requiring

corporations to be represented by counsel extends to all

non-natural persons, as its purpose is the protection of the

courts and the administration of justice.” Kermanj Found. v.

Broward Cnty. Prop. Appraiser’s Office, Civ. No. 09-61540, 2010

WL 1433174, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 9, 2010). 

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that request for substitution

of representation be, and the same hereby is, DENIED. 

DATED: January 2, 2013

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