Savino Del Bene U.S.A., Inc. v. International Paper Solutions Co
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-08745
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Savino Del Bene v. International Paper Solutions: Judge Cronan granted counsel’s withdrawal and ordered the corporation to obtain new counsel or risk default judgment.
International Paper Solutions Co. must obtain new counsel by February 10, 2022, and Mark D. Herman is no longer counsel of record. Savino Del Bene U.S.A., Inc. may need to advise the court about next steps if no new lawyer appears.
What happened
In Savino Del Bene U.S.A., Inc. v. International Paper Solutions Co., the defendant’s lawyer, Mark D. Herman, asked to withdraw from the case, and the request was unopposed.
The court granted the request and told International Paper Solutions Co. that, as a corporation, it cannot represent itself. The company must obtain a new lawyer and have that lawyer file a notice of appearance by February 10, 2022.
Judge John P. Cronan ordered Mr. Herman to give the defendant a copy of the order and warn that failing to obtain new counsel may lead to a default judgment. The court also directed the clerk to remove Mr. Herman as the defendant’s lawyer.
The detailed version
- Savino Del Bene U.S.A., Inc. v. International Paper Solutions Co · No. 1:20-cv-08745
- John Cronan
- Jan. 11, 2022
Background
At a January 11, 2022 conference, Mark D. Herman made an unopposed request to withdraw as counsel for Defendant International Paper Solutions Co. The opinion states that the reasons for the ruling were given on the record during that conference, but it does not describe those reasons.
Court’s Ruling
The court granted Mr. Herman’s request to withdraw. It advised International Paper Solutions Co. that a corporation cannot proceed without a lawyer and must engage new counsel. The new lawyer was required to file a notice of appearance by February 10, 2022.
The court further ordered Mr. Herman to provide the defendant with a copy of the order and to advise it that failing to engage new counsel by the deadline may result in a default judgment. A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party fails to defend the case as required. The court did not enter a default judgment in this order. If no attorney appeared for the defendant, Savino Del Bene U.S.A., Inc. was directed to file a letter by February 10, 2022 describing proposed next steps, including whether it intended to seek a default judgment.
Other Order
The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate Mark D. Herman as counsel for the defendant.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.