Luis v. Free Speech Systems LLC d/b/a InfoWarsStore.com
Kevin Yan Luis, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Free Speech Systems LLC d/b/a InfoWarsStore.com
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-01594
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kevin Yan Luis v. Free Speech Systems LLC, Judge Cave ordered plaintiff to pursue default proceedings after defendant’s lawyer sought withdrawal and no replacement counsel appeared.
Free Speech Systems LLC d/b/a InfoWarsStore.com, which was left without appearing counsel, and Kevin Yan Luis, who was ordered to begin the process for seeking default judgment.
What happened
Kevin Yan Luis v. Free Speech Systems LLC concerns the defendant’s lawyer’s request to withdraw from representing Free Speech Systems LLC, which had not responded or arranged for new counsel after receiving notice of the request. The court had reminded the company that a limited liability company must appear in federal court through a licensed lawyer.
The court extended the deadline for new counsel to appear, but no new lawyer appeared by October 28, 2025. The company also did not respond to the withdrawal request.
Judge Zara L. Cave ordered Kevin Yan Luis to request a Certificate of Default from the Clerk of Court by November 13, 2025, and to file a motion for default judgment by November 27, 2025. The order did not itself enter default judgment.
The detailed version
- Luis v. Free Speech Systems LLC d/b/a InfoWarsStore.com · No. 1:22-cv-01594
- Paul Engelmayer
- Oct. 30, 2025
Background
Norman A. Pattis, the lawyer for Free Speech Systems LLC d/b/a InfoWarsStore.com, moved to withdraw as the company’s counsel on September 23, 2025. The court ordered him to prove that the company had received the motion and gave the company until October 13, 2025, to respond. The court also reminded the company that it must appear through a licensed lawyer because it is a limited liability company.
Mr. Pattis filed proof that the motion had been served on September 29, 2025. Free Speech Systems did not respond to the motion, and no new lawyer appeared by the October 13 deadline. The court had warned that these failures could allow Kevin Yan Luis to begin default proceedings. On October 14, 2025, the court extended the deadline for new counsel to appear, as a one-time courtesy, until October 28, 2025. No new counsel appeared by that date.
Order
Judge Zara L. Cave ordered Kevin Yan Luis to request a Certificate of Default against Free Speech Systems from the Clerk of Court by November 13, 2025. The court also ordered him to file a motion for default judgment by November 27, 2025, following the practices of Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Southern District of New York’s local rule on default. The order directed the next steps toward seeking default judgment; it did not itself grant default judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.