Babyrev v. Belfi
- Laura Swain
- 1:19-cv-11693
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Babyrev v. Belfi, Judge Swain denied self-representation, made opposition to an extension moot, and denied the fee-waiver request without prejudice.
The order directly affected Vadim Babyrev, his appointed counsel Bobbi C. Sternheim, and Respondents by keeping appointed counsel in the case, granting Respondents more time to answer, and denying the request to proceed without paying the filing fee without prejudice.
What happened
In Babyrev v. Belfi, Vadim Babyrev asked to represent himself while keeping his appointed lawyer as standby counsel, opposed Respondents’ request for more time to answer the petition, and asked to proceed without paying court fees.
The court denied the request for self-representation because the case was at an early stage and appointed counsel was necessary. It granted Respondents’ extension request, making Babyrev’s opposition moot. The court also denied the request to proceed without paying the filing fee without prejudice because Babyrev had already paid the $5 fee and the petition had been served.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed appointed counsel Bobbi C. Sternheim to file a status report about whether the case could proceed without appointing a guardian, possible federal-court mechanisms for appointing one, and a proposed litigation schedule.
The detailed version
- Babyrev v. Belfi · No. 1:19-cv-11693
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 17, 2020
Background
Vadim Babyrev asked the court to let him proceed without a lawyer while keeping his court-appointed counsel as standby counsel. He also objected to Respondents’ request for additional time to answer the petition and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court had already received the petition fee and had served the petition on Respondents.
Rulings
The court denied the motion to proceed without counsel and to have appointed counsel serve only as standby counsel. It explained that the petition was in its early stages and that appointed counsel was necessary. The court also stated that the time counsel had spent gathering information and learning about the case was not unusual given the length and complexity of the events described in the petition.
The court granted Respondents’ request for an extension of time to answer the petition. Because appointed counsel consented to that request and the court found the extension reasonable, Babyrev’s request to oppose it was moot, meaning there was no longer a live issue for the court to decide.
The court denied Babyrev’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee without prejudice. It found the reason for that request unclear because Babyrev had already paid the $5 filing fee and the court had served the petition. “Without prejudice” means the ruling did not bar a later request.
Further proceedings
The court directed appointed counsel Bobbi C. Sternheim to file a status report by May 15, 2020. The report had to address whether the case could proceed without appointing a guardian, whether federal court had a mechanism for providing a guardian, and a proposed schedule for litigating the petition. Counsel also had to promptly provide Babyrev with a copy of the order.
Disposition
The order resolved docket entries 9 and 12. It denied the request to proceed without counsel, granted Respondents’ extension request, treated Babyrev’s opposition as moot, and denied the request to proceed without paying the filing fee without prejudice.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.