Tatintsian v. Vorotyntsev

Background

The court considered a request by Mikhail Vorotyntsev for an extension of the deadline for ShopLink, Inc., IT Adapter LLC, and Aum Code LLC (the “Corporate Defendants”) to appear through counsel. Gary Tatintsian’s counsel opposed the request. Albert Y. Dayan, who had not yet entered an appearance for any party, told the court that he had agreed in principle to represent the Corporate Defendants and asked for additional time to complete the engagement and file a formal notice of appearance.

The court had previously told the parties that the Corporate Defendants could not appear without licensed counsel. It explained that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a lawyer, that Mr. Vorotyntsev was not a lawyer, and that Mr. Dayan did not yet represent the companies because he had not filed a notice of appearance. The court also again directed Mr. Vorotyntsev to communicate through the Pro Se Office rather than the judge’s chambers email address.

Reasons for the Decision

The court reviewed the Corporate Defendants’ history of retaining and losing counsel. It noted that they had worked with five sets of counsel since 2019. The case had previously been stayed to allow the companies to obtain counsel, and the court had previously granted an extension. The Corporate Defendants had also been held in default after failing to obtain counsel, although the court later vacated that default after a lawyer appeared and ordered the companies to address the resulting prejudice.

Most recently, the court had granted counsel’s requests to withdraw on January 31, 2021, stayed the case until March 2, 2021, and warned that the Corporate Defendants could be found in default if counsel did not appear by then. The court said the repeated delays prejudiced the other parties, who were ready to pursue summary-judgment motions against Mr. Vorotyntsev, and that further extensions could cause additional delay.

Ruling

The court concluded that a short extension was warranted because Mr. Dayan reported that he and the Corporate Defendants had agreed in principle on the terms of representation. The court extended the stay to March 10, 2021, to allow the agreement to be completed and a notice of appearance to be filed. The court stated that it expected to enter a default against the Corporate Defendants if no attorney appeared by that date. It also directed the Clerk of Court to mail a copy of the order to Mr. Vorotyntsev by first-class and certified mail.