Dubai Equine Hospital v. Equine Imaging, LLC

Background

Dubai Equine Hospital asked the court to enter default judgment against Equine Imaging, LLC and George Papaioannou. It also asked for attorney’s fees and costs based on alleged discovery failures and Equine Imaging’s failure to retain new counsel after its previous counsel withdrew.

The plaintiff’s submission stated that the defendants had not provided dates for their depositions, explained their withholding of documents on confidentiality grounds, reviewed or signed a proposed protective order, or responded to repeated requests and court orders. The plaintiff also stated that the court had previously granted a motion to compel and had warned Equine Imaging that it could face default judgment if it did not retain counsel.

Court’s Ruling

Judge Vernon S. Broderick denied the application without prejudice. The order stated that Equine Imaging, LLC could not proceed without counsel and had to retain a lawyer. It stated that George Papaioannou could proceed without a lawyer but had to advise the court whether he would do so. The order also required the defendants to comply with the court’s prior discovery orders by June 19, 2020.

The supplied order contains partially obscured text. As a result, the exact deadline for Equine Imaging to retain counsel and the exact deadline for Papaioannou to advise the court cannot be determined from the text provided. The order indicated that the plaintiff could renew its application if the defendants failed to comply.