Pareja v. 184 Food Corp.
- Stewart Aaron
- 1:18-cv-05887
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pareja v. 184 Food Corp., Judge Aaron ordered defendants to respond to counsel’s withdrawal motion and warned that default judgment could follow.
0113 Food Corp., Giovanni Marte, Gustavo Marte, Jose Marte, and their current counsel, Cesar A. Fernandez. The order also concerns the possible effect of counsel’s withdrawal on the corporation and the individual defendants.
What happened
Pareja v. 184 Food Corp. is a case in which defense attorney Cesar A. Fernandez asked to withdraw from representing certain defendants.
The court ordered 0113 Food Corp., Giovanni Marte, Gustavo Marte, and Jose Marte to respond by February 26, 2021. Their lawyer had to serve the order on them and file proof of service. The court did not decide whether counsel could withdraw.
Judge Stewart D. Aaron warned that the corporation could not represent itself and might face default judgment if its lawyer withdrew and no replacement appeared. The individual defendants could represent themselves, but failing to follow court orders and deadlines could lead to sanctions, including default judgment.
The detailed version
- Pareja v. 184 Food Corp. · No. 1:18-cv-05887
- Stewart Aaron
- Feb. 10, 2021
Background
The opinion concerns a motion by defense counsel, Cesar A. Fernandez, to withdraw from representing defendants. The order identifies the affected defendants as 0113 Food Corp., Giovanni Marte, Gustavo Marte, and Jose Marte.
Order
The court ordered those defendants to file any response to the withdrawal motion by February 26, 2021. Their current counsel had to serve a copy of the order on the defendants by February 12, 2021, and file proof of service by February 16, 2021. The defendants had to provide any response to their current counsel, who then had to file it on the court docket immediately after receiving it.
Warnings and effect
The court advised that a corporation cannot appear without a lawyer in the case. If Fernandez were allowed to withdraw and no replacement counsel appeared for 0113 Food Corp., the court stated that it might enter a default judgment against the corporation. The court stated that the individual defendants could proceed without lawyers, but they still had to comply with court orders and deadlines. Failure to do so could result in sanctions, including default judgment.
Judge Stewart D. Aaron issued an order setting a response process and warning about possible consequences; the opinion does not state that the withdrawal motion was granted or denied.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.