UMB Bank, National Association v. Sita Partners LLC
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:21-cv-10670
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In UMB Bank v. Sita Partners, Judge Schofield granted counsel’s withdrawal and sealing motions, requiring Sita to obtain representation or risk default judgment.
Sita Partners LLC, its withdrawing counsel, and the parties and attorneys with access to the sealed documents. Sita was warned that a default judgment may be entered if it does not obtain representation within 30 days.
What happened
UMB Bank, National Association v. Sita Partners LLC and Austin FBO Holdings, LLC involved Sita’s attorneys’ request to withdraw from representing Sita. The request did not address the merits of the underlying case.
The attorneys asked the court to consider their withdrawal application privately and to seal their supporting papers. The opinion states that Sita is a corporation and therefore may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the application to withdraw and the motion to seal. She ordered Sita’s counsel to certify by May 20, 2022, that Sita had been told it could face a default judgment if it did not obtain representation within 30 days, and directed the Clerk to end certain attorneys’ electronic-notice access and close the motions.
The detailed version
- UMB Bank, National Association v. Sita Partners LLC · No. 1:21-cv-10670
- Lorna Schofield
- May 18, 2022
Background
Sita Partners LLC’s counsel asked to be relieved as counsel of record. The request was made under the Southern District of New York’s local rules and was submitted for private consideration because it implicated the attorney-client relationship. The counsel’s letter stated that the application would not address the merits of the underlying litigation.
The attorneys also asked the court to seal the memorandum and declaration supporting withdrawal. The opinion states that Sita is a corporation and that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney.
Rulings
The court granted the application to withdraw as counsel. It directed Sita’s counsel to file, by May 20, 2022, a declaration confirming that Sita had been advised that a default judgment may be entered against it if it did not obtain representation within 30 days.
The court also granted the motion to seal. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate Ms. Schwartz’s, Ms. Handelsman’s, and Ms. Harevy’s receipt of electronic filing notices and to close the motions listed at Docket Nos. 60 and 61.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.