Sun v. China 1221, Inc.
- Richard Sullivan
- 1:12-cv-07135
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sun v. China 1221, Judge Sullivan denied with prejudice Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees motion because it was not prosecuted.
The ruling directly affected the plaintiffs’ pending motion for attorneys’ fees against China 1221, Inc., doing business as China Fun. The motion was denied with prejudice, and the Clerk was directed to terminate it.
What happened
In Hengjin Sun, et al. v. China 1221, Inc., doing business as China Fun, the plaintiffs sought attorneys’ fees after winning a jury trial. The motion was filed in January 2017, before China 1221, Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the court stayed matters against it.
After the bankruptcy court issued a final decree in January 2022, the court asked whether the plaintiffs intended to pursue or withdraw the fee motion. Attorney David Yan said co-counsel Parker Waggaman intended to litigate it, but Waggaman did not sign the letter and had not appeared or filed anything since January 10, 2017. No party filed anything on the docket for nearly three years after the court separately denied Yan’s request for a New York Labor Law penalty without prejudice.
The court denied the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees motion with prejudice based on the failure to prosecute it and directed the Clerk to terminate the motion. Judge Richard J. Sullivan, a Circuit Judge sitting by designation, entered the order.
The detailed version
- Sun v. China 1221, Inc. · No. 1:12-cv-07135
- Richard Sullivan
- Apr. 1, 2025
Background
After judgment was entered for the plaintiffs following a jury trial, the plaintiffs filed a motion for attorneys’ fees against China 1221, Inc., doing business as China Fun, on January 7, 2017. Before the court ruled on that motion, China Fun filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on January 27, 2017. That filing triggered the bankruptcy-law provision automatically staying matters against the debtor, and the court stayed all matters against China Fun.
Later Proceedings
The bankruptcy court issued a final decree on January 12, 2022. Because the attorneys’ fees motion had remained pending since January 2017, the court directed the plaintiffs to state whether they intended to litigate or withdraw it. Attorney David Yan responded that he would continue representing the plaintiffs only regarding their request for a 15 percent penalty under the New York Labor Law. Regarding attorneys’ fees, Yan said that co-counsel Parker Waggaman intended to litigate the pending motion.
Waggaman did not sign Yan’s letter and had made no appearance or filing in the matter since January 10, 2017. After additional briefing on the penalty request, the court denied Yan’s request for the 15 percent penalty without prejudice. The opinion states that no party filed anything on the docket during the nearly three years after that order and that Waggaman had made no filing or appearance for more than eight years.
Ruling
The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys’ fees with prejudice, citing the court’s authority to dismiss for failure to prosecute—that is, failure to move a case forward. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at docket number 261. Judge Richard J. Sullivan, a United States Circuit Judge sitting by designation, entered the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.