Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. 28 West Group Corp.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:24-cv-05215
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Joe Hand Promotions v. 28 West Group, Judge Broderick ordered proof of service or good cause by January 10, warning of dismissal.
Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. and the defendants in the case. The order requires Joe Hand Promotions to provide proof of timely service or show good cause by January 10, 2025, and warns that the action will be dismissed if it fails to do so.
What happened
Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. sued 28 West Group Corp. and other defendants on July 10, 2024. The court later ordered the plaintiff to show that the defendants were timely served or explain why the case should continue. The plaintiff requested, and received, an extension until December 27, 2024.
The plaintiff had not filed proof of service or taken other action to prosecute the case by the time of this order. The court therefore required the plaintiff to file affidavits showing timely service. If service was not timely, the plaintiff had to submit a short, legally supported explanation showing good cause for the delay.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick warned that failing to meet the January 10, 2025 deadline and demonstrate good cause would result in dismissal. The order did not itself dismiss the case.
The detailed version
- Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. 28 West Group Corp. · No. 1:24-cv-05215
- Vernon Broderick
- Jan. 3, 2025
Background
Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. filed the action against 28 West Group Corp. and other defendants on July 10, 2024, and obtained summonses on July 11, 2024. On October 18, 2024, the court ordered Joe Hand Promotions either to show that the defendants had been timely served or to explain why the case should not be dismissed. The court later granted Joe Hand Promotions an extension of time to complete service, through December 27, 2024.
The opinion states that Joe Hand Promotions had not filed affidavits of service or taken other action to prosecute the case by January 3, 2025.
Order
The court ordered Joe Hand Promotions, by January 10, 2025, to file affidavits showing that the defendants had been timely served. If service had not been timely, Joe Hand Promotions instead had to file a letter of no more than three pages, supported by legal authority, showing good cause for the delay under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). The court described good cause as generally requiring exceptional circumstances beyond the plaintiff's control and noted that attorney inadvertence, neglect, mistake, or misplaced reliance does not constitute good cause.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick warned that failure to submit the required letter and demonstrate good cause for failing to timely serve the defendants would result in dismissal of the action. The January 3 order itself did not dismiss the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.