Starboard Attitude Trust et al v. FirstFleet Incorporated

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WO
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Starboard Attitude Trust, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
FirstFleet Incorporated,
Defendant.
No. CV-25-03701-PHX-MTL
ORDER
Plaintiff Gary L. Wagoner filed a motion to allow electronic filing by a party
appearing without an attorney (Doc. 8). The Court has considered the motion (Doc. 8) and
will grant it.
In its review, however, the Court found that Dr. Wagoner, a non-attorney, filed the
complaint as the “authorized representative” for Plaintiff Starboard Attitude Trust. (Doc. 1-
1 at 9). When appearing in federal court, an entity cannot represent itself, and a non-
attorney cannot represent an entity. See Rowland v. Cal. Men’s Colony, Unit II Men’s
Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 201-02 (1993). Furthermore, “[a] non-attorney trustee
may not represent a trust pro se in an Article III court.” C.E. Pope Equity Tr. v. United
States, 818 F.2d 696, 697-98 (9th Cir. 1987). A non-attorney may represent himself in a
case before the Court. See id.
Here, the Court does not know what Dr. Wagoner means by “Authorized
Representative for Starboard Attitude Trust” based on the complaint. If Dr. Wagoner
wishes to appear as a party, rather than represent Starboard Attitude Trust, he must be “the
Case 2:25-cv-03701-MTL Document 11 Filed 10/29/25 Page 1 of 2

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actual beneficial owner of the claims being asserted by the Trust.” See id.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED granting Plaintiff Gary L. Wagoner’s motion to allow electronic
filing by a party appearing without an attorney (Doc. 8) in this case only. Plaintiff is
required to comply with all rules outlined in the District of Arizona’s Case
Management/Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, have
access to the required equipment and software, have a personal electronic mailbox of
sufficient capacity to send and receive electronic notice of case related transmissions, be
able to electronically transmit documents to the court in .pdf, complete the necessary forms
to register as a user with the Clerk’s Office within five days of the date of this Order (if not
already on file), register as a subscriber to PACER (Public Access to Electronic Records)
within five days of the date of this Order (if this has not already occurred), and comply
with the privacy policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the
E-Government Act of 2002.
Any misuse of the ECF system will result in immediate discontinuation of this
privilege and disabling of the password assigned to the party.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within fourteen (14) days from the date of
this Order that Plaintiff Gary L. Wagoner must file a notice explaining what he means by
“authorized representative for Starboard Attitude Trust.” Failure to do so may result in
dismissal of the case for failure to prosecute.
IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall provide a copy of
this Order to the Attorney Admissions/Admin Clerk.
Dated this 29th day of October, 2025.
Case 2:25-cv-03701-MTL Document 11 Filed 10/29/25 Page 2 of 2