E-FILED 2017 MAR 06 1:47 PM LEE SOUTH - KEOKUK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT

IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR LEE (SOUTH) COUNTY

CHEYENNE JERRED, Cause No. LALA006291

Plaintiff,

vs.
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
MIDWEST ACADEMY, LLC., CONTINUE AND ENTERING DEFAULT
JUDGMENT
Defendant.

The court entered an Order in this matter on February 22, 2017, which clarified

for the record which of the Defendants was properly served and actually being sued in

this case. The Order also clarified that one of the owners of that corporation would be

able to represent the Defendant at trial, as he is not a licensed attorney. The court

further provided that unless the Defendant made arrangements for counsel to appear of

record by March 3, 2017, the court would enter a Default Judgment on March 6, 2017,

and cancel the jury trial scheduled for March 7, 2017.

The Defendant Midwest Academy, LLC, has not made arrangements for counsel

to appear of record. Instead, an individual owner of that Defendant, Benjamin Trane,

filed a Motion to Continue this trial on February 27, 2017, requesting that the court grant

a continuance of the trial, which is scheduled for March 7, 2017, for six months so that

he could try to get an attorney to represent the company. The Plaintiff filed a

Resistance to the Motion to Continue on March 5, 2017.

This matter was originally filed on January 5, 2016. Counsel appeared on behalf

of Defendant Midwest Academy, LLC on February 4, 2016. This was a limited

appearance. That attorney concluded his work on that limited appearance. The same

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 E-FILED 2017 MAR 06 1:47 PM LEE SOUTH - KEOKUK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT

attorney filed another limited appearance on April 12, 2016, for certain work. That work

was also concluded. It is clear that the Defendant Midwest Academy LLC knew that it

needed to have legal counsel to represent it in this action. There is nothing in the

record that would indicate that the Defendant will be able to retain counsel if the

continuance is granted. This was confirmed by the statements of Benjamin Trane at

the pretrial conference on February 20, 2017, where he advised the court that the

corporation had no assets and that he was also broken living out of his car. As a result,

there is nothing in the record that would indicate a continuance would serve any

purpose in this case. As a result, the court concludes the Motion to Continue should be

denied.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Motion to Continue filed by Benjamin

Trane, one of the owners of Defendant Midwest Academy, LLC on February 27, 2017,

is denied.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that based upon the Defendant being unable to

present a defense, a default judgment is entered against the Defendant Midwest

Academy, LLC on the issue of liability.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a hearing to prove the damages of the Plaintiff

shall be held on May 9, 2017, at 11:30 a.m.

Dated and signed this 6th day of March, 2017.

The clerk shall distribute copies to Curtis Dial, Benjamin Trane, case coordinator.

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 E-FILED 2017 MAR 06 1:47 PM LEE SOUTH - KEOKUK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT

State of Iowa Courts

Type: OTHER ORDER

Case Number Case Title

LALA006291 CHEYENNE JERRED VS MIDWEST ACADEMY LLC

So Ordered

Electronically signed on 2017-03-06 13:47:48 page 3 of 3