Touchstone Life Essentials, Inc. v. Healed LLC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer
Civil Action No. 24-cv-03386-PAB
TOUCHSTONE LIFE ESSENTIALS, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
HEALED LLC,
Defendant.
ORDER
On December 6, 2024, plaintiff Touchstone Life Essentials, Inc. (“Touchstone”)
filed suit in this case. Docket No. 1. Touchstone brings five claims against defendant
Healed LLC, namely, one claim of copyright infringement, one claim of false designation
of origin and unfair competition under the Lanham Act, one claim of false advertising
under the Lanham Act, one claim of common law unfair competition, and one claim of
violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. Id. at 29–33, ¶¶ 57–91. On December
30, 2024, Touchstone filed a motion for entry of default against Healed LLC, Docket No.
12, and the Clerk of Court entered default against Healed LLC on January 2, 2025.
Docket No. 13.
On January 27, 2025, Touchstone filed its Unopposed Motion for Entry of Final
Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction. Docket No. 14. The entirety of
Touchstone’s motion is that, “[p]ursuant to the agreement of the parties, Plaintiff
Touchstone Life Essentials, Inc. respectfully moves this Court to enter the Final
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Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction submitted with this Motion as the final
order and judgment in this case.” Id. at 1. Touchstone attaches to the motion a
proposed order, which includes a permanent injunction against Healed LLC from
engaging in certain kinds of advertising and authorizes certain third-party entities to no
longer provide services to Healed LLC. See Docket No. 14-1. The proposed order is
signed by Ghlana Hamboul, who purports to be an “Authorized Representative of
Healed, LLC.” Id. at 9.
A “judgment cannot just be stipulated by the parties.” Metro. Life Ins. Co. v.
Hanni, 2017 WL 6805318, at *2 (N.D. Ind. Sept. 14, 2017). “Rather, it may be
requested and granted by the Court if it is consistent with the law, does not harm third
parties, and is an appropriate use of judicial resources.” Id. (citing Kasper v. Bd. of
Election Comm’rs of the City of Chicago, 814 F.2d 332, 338 (7th Cir. 1987)). “The
parties’ mere desire to have the Court enforce their settlement agreement is insufficient
because ‘a federal court is more than a “recorder of contracts” from whom private
parties may purchase injunctions.’” Id. (quoting Local No. 93, Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters,
AFL–CIO C.L.C. v. City of Cleveland, 478 U.S. 501, 525 (1986)); see also Branch
Banking & Tr. Co. v. Mellow Mushroom Three Peat, Inc., 2020 WL 532256, at *3 (N.D.
Tex. Feb. 3, 2020) (“the authority to enforce a settlement agreement does not
automatically empower a court to enter a consent judgment based on that settlement
agreement” (citing Cavallini v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 44 F.3d 256, 268 (5th Cir.
1995)).
Touchstone’s motion is deficient for four reasons. First, Healed LLC has not
made an appearance in this case, and Touchstone provides no support for the
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proposition that a court may enter a “consent” injunction against a party who has not
appeared. See Consteel Erectors, Inc. v. Scharpf’s Constr., Inc., 2008 WL 4568079, at
*5–6 (D. Neb. Oct. 10, 2008) (“I will not enter a judgment by consent against a party
who has not entered an appearance in the action. The proper procedure, of course, is
to file a motion for the entry of a default judgment, which Kraus–Anderson and Menards
can still do.”) (footnote omitted).
Second, the proposed consent judgment is signed by Ghlana Hamboul, who is
identified as an “Authorized Representative of Healed, LLC,” but who is not identified as
an attorney representing Healed LLC. See Docket No. 14-1 at 9. In federal court,
limited liability companies must be represented by counsel. Harrison v. Wahatoyas,
L.L.C., 253 F.3d 552, 556 (10th Cir. 2001) (“a corporation or other business entity can
only appear in court through an attorney and not through a non-attorney corporate
officer appearing pro se”); Consteel Erectors, 2008 WL 4568079, at *6 n.14 (“Although
the motion is signed by James Scharpf as president of Scharpf’s Construction, the law
does not allow a corporation to proceed pro se”). Third, although the proposed order
indicates that Ghlana Hamboul is a representative of Healed LLC, Touchstone attaches
no evidence or explanation that Ghlana Hamboul’s signature is what it purports to be,
namely, the signature of a person who has the authority to make binding agreements on
behalf of Healed LLC.
Fourth, Touchstone’s single sentence motion provides no explanation as to why
the Court should retain jurisdiction over this case by entering the proposed consent
judgment and permanent injunction. See Docket No. 14. “Unlike a stipulated dismissal,
which parties may take as of right, litigants wishing the court to issue a consent
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judgment must argue why the judgment should issue, and cannot expect the court
unreflectively to endorse their agreement with the full authority of the federal judiciary.”
United States for use of Tri–City Elec. Co. of Iowa v. Alacran/O & SJV, LLC, 2014 WL
5473138, at *3 (C.D. Ill. Oct. 29, 2014); Metro. Life Ins., 2017 WL 6805318, at *2 (“The
parties have not provided reasons why a consent judgment is more appropriate in this
case than would be a stipulated dismissal, and no reason why a consent judgment
would be an appropriate commitment of the court’s limited resources.” (quotation and
citation omitted)). Under the Court’s practice standards, “[e]xcept in extraordinary
circumstances, the court will not retain jurisdiction . . . over cases that have been
settled. . . . Any motion or stipulation for dismissal requesting that the court retain
jurisdiction after dismissal shall explain in detail the extraordinary circumstances
necessitating such an approach.” See Practice Standards (Civil cases), Chief Judge
Philip A. Brimmer, § I.H.5. Touchstone makes no argument as to why the Court should
retain jurisdiction over this case.
For all these reasons, Touchstone’s motion for entry of a consent judgment and
permanent injunction is denied. Wherefore, it is
ORDERED that the Unopposed Motion for Entry of Final Consent Judgment and
Permanent Injunction [Docket No. 14] is DENIED without prejudice.
DATED January 30, 2025.
BY THE COURT:
___________________________
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
Chief United States District Judge
_____________________________________________________	______________________
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