Dome-A-Nation, LLC v. Blue Sky International, Inc.
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-05862
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Dome-A-Nation v. Blue Sky, Judge Halpern denied Turf Nation’s request to appear without a lawyer and ordered steps toward possible default proceedings.
Turf Nation, Inc. was denied permission to appear without a licensed attorney and was told that failing to obtain counsel could support a default judgment. Blue Sky International, Inc. had not appeared or timely responded. Dome-A-Nation, LLC received instructions for filing the discovery and scheduling documents or seeking an adjournment and possible default proceedings.
What happened
In Dome-A-Nation, LLC v. Blue Sky International, Inc., Blue Sky had not appeared or timely responded to the complaint, while Turf Nation submitted an unsigned letter from a person identifying himself as its president. The court treated the letter as possibly asking to represent Turf Nation without a lawyer.
The court denied that request because a corporation must appear in federal court through a licensed attorney. It directed Turf Nation to obtain a lawyer and warned that failing to do so could support a default judgment. The court did not enter a default judgment in this order.
Judge Philip M. Halpern also set filing instructions for the discovery plan and scheduling order. If the defendants would not cooperate, Dome-A-Nation was to file the documents itself; if it could not communicate with them, it was to seek an adjournment and propose a date for proceedings concerning a possible default judgment.
The detailed version
- Dome-A-Nation, LLC v. Blue Sky International, Inc. · No. 7:20-cv-05862
- Philip Halpern
- Nov. 10, 2020
Background
The court had required the parties to file a proposed civil-case discovery plan and scheduling order at least seven days before the initial pretrial conference, which was scheduled for November 18, 2020. Dome-A-Nation filed a waiver of service for Blue Sky International, Inc.; Blue Sky was required to answer or otherwise respond by October 9, 2020, but had not appeared or timely responded. Dome-A-Nation also filed an affidavit stating that Turf Nation, Inc. had been served on August 12, 2020 and was required to respond by September 2, 2020.
On August 31, 2020, an unsigned letter from Sid O. Nicholls, who described himself as Turf Nation’s president, was filed. The letter was characterized as a response on Turf Nation’s behalf to being named as a defendant. The court considered whether the letter was a request for Mr. Nicholls to proceed without a lawyer on behalf of Turf Nation.
Ruling on Representation
The court denied that request to the extent it sought permission for Turf Nation to proceed without a lawyer. It explained that a corporation is an artificial entity and may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney; it may not represent itself. The court ordered Turf Nation to obtain representation through a licensed attorney. It stated that failure to do so may constitute grounds for entry of default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55. The court did not enter default judgment in this order.
Discovery and Scheduling Instructions
The court ordered that, if Dome-A-Nation was communicating with the defendants, the parties were to file the proposed discovery plan and scheduling order by November 16, 2020. If the defendants refused to cooperate, Dome-A-Nation was to prepare and file those documents. If Dome-A-Nation was not communicating with the defendants, it was to file by November 16 a letter requesting an adjournment of the initial pretrial conference and proposing a date before that conference to present an order requiring the defendants to explain why default judgment should not be entered, along with the related papers required by the court’s Individual Rules.
Dome-A-Nation was directed to serve a copy of the order on the defendants and file proof of service by November 24, 2020. Judge Philip M. Halpern signed the order on November 10, 2020.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.