Robert E. Diamond, Jr. and Atlas Merchant Capital LLC v. Triller Group, Inc.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:25-cv-00129
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Diamond v. Triller: Judge Engelmayer entered default judgment on liability after Triller failed to obtain counsel, while seeking clarification about stock damages.
Robert E. Diamond, Jr. and Atlas Merchant Capital LLC obtained a default judgment against Triller Group, Inc. on liability. The damages portion remained unresolved pending plaintiffs’ clarification about the requested stock award.
What happened
Robert E. Diamond, Jr. and Atlas Merchant Capital LLC sued Triller Group, Inc. in a case involving claims centrally related to constructive discharge.
Triller’s lawyers withdrew after Triller did not pay outstanding legal fees. Despite repeated notices and extensions, Triller did not obtain new counsel or oppose the request for default judgment. The court therefore entered default judgment against Triller on liability.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer has not yet finalized the damages portion. He asked plaintiffs to confirm whether they seek 5,950,705 shares of Triller common stock rather than money representing those shares’ value, and directed the clerk to terminate the default-judgment motion.
The detailed version
- Robert E. Diamond, Jr. and Atlas Merchant Capital LLC v. Triller Group, Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-00129
- Paul Engelmayer
- Nov. 10, 2025
Background
Plaintiffs sued Triller Group, Inc. on January 7, 2025, asserting claims centrally related to constructive discharge. Triller was served with process the next day. On July 29, 2025, Triller’s counsel asked to withdraw, stating that Triller had not paid outstanding legal fees. The court later granted in part and denied in part Triller’s motion to dismiss.
Because a corporation cannot represent itself without a lawyer in federal court, the court gave Triller time to retain new counsel. The court warned that it would consider a request for default judgment if Triller remained unrepresented. Triller’s former counsel reported serving the court’s orders on Triller’s executives and registered corporate agent. The court later granted counsel’s withdrawal after Triller still had not obtained replacement counsel.
Default proceedings
Plaintiffs obtained a Clerk’s Certificate of Default on October 1, 2025, and moved for default judgment on October 14, 2025. The court gave Triller until November 6, 2025, to enter an appearance and oppose the motion. Triller did not appear through new counsel and did not oppose the motion. The opinion describes plaintiffs’ efforts to serve Triller, including service attempts involving its registered corporate agent, executive officers, and last known address.
Ruling
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b), the court entered default judgment as to liability for plaintiffs against Triller. The court based that ruling on Triller’s failure to appear through new counsel despite notice of the consequences and its failure to contest entry of default judgment.
The court did not set out a final damages award in this order. It stated that most aspects of plaintiffs’ damages appeared readily calculable without a damages hearing, but asked plaintiffs to clarify whether they sought issuance of 5,950,705 shares of Triller common stock or monetary damages reflecting the shares’ fair value. If plaintiffs confirmed that they sought the shares, the court stated that it expected to issue a default judgment as to damages without a hearing. The court directed the clerk to terminate the motion at docket 48.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.