Can a corporation represent itself in court?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Aulisio v. Bancroft, 179 Cal.Rptr.3d 408, 230 Cal.App.4th 1516 (Cal. App. 2014):

corporation cannot represent itself in court, either in propria persona or through an officer or agent who is not an attorney." ( Vann v. Shilleh (1975) 54 Cal.App.3d 192, 199, [126 Cal.Rptr. 401].) The trial court apparently reasoned that because a corporation is a separate legal entity from its shareholders, and must utilize an attorney to conduct litigation ( ibid. ), the same must be true of trusts, even when the settlor of a revocable trust is also the trustee and sole beneficiary.

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