Aferzon v. 172 Madison NP Holding, LLC
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:18-cv-02829
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Aferzon v. 172 Madison NP Holding, Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the judgment-enforcement petition without prejudice after Aferzon failed to respond to two orders.
Lana Aferzon’s petition to enforce a judgment was dismissed without prejudice because she did not respond to the Court’s status-update orders. The order did not resolve the underlying enforcement issue.
What happened
Aferzon v. 172 Madison NP Holding concerned Lana Aferzon’s petition to enforce a judgment. After her attorneys were relieved, Aferzon said she was trying to retain new counsel.
The court ordered Aferzon twice to provide a status update and warned that the case could be dismissed if she did not respond. She did not submit either update or otherwise indicate that she intended to continue the case.
Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the action without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Aferzon and record proof of service.
The detailed version
- Aferzon v. 172 Madison NP Holding, LLC · No. 1:18-cv-02829
- Ronnie Abrams
- Aug. 10, 2020
Background
Lana Aferzon filed a petition to enforce a judgment on April 3, 2018. On January 10, 2019, the Court relieved her prior attorneys as counsel and instructed her to inform the Court about her next steps, including whether she intended to obtain or had obtained new counsel. Aferzon later stated that she was in the process of retaining new counsel.
On May 21, 2020, the Court ordered Aferzon to submit a status update by June 22 and warned that the case might be dismissed for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The order was mailed to her on May 28. After receiving no response, the Court issued another order on July 6 directing her to submit a status letter by July 24 and again warning that the action would be dismissed under Rule 41(b) if she did not respond. That order was also mailed to her.
Ruling
Rule 41(b) permits a district court to dismiss an action when a plaintiff fails to prosecute the case or comply with a court order. The court may take that action on its own after notifying the plaintiff. Because Aferzon had not responded to either order and had not otherwise indicated that she intended to pursue the action, Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(b).
Effect of the Order
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail a copy of the order to Aferzon and indicate proof of service on the docket. The opinion does not describe the underlying judgment or decide the merits of Aferzon’s petition to enforce it.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.