Sanchez v. BTO America Limited
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:22-cv-02419
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sanchez v. BTO America Limited, Judge Schofield ordered BTO to appear through counsel by June 17, 2022, or default judgment may be entered.
BTO America Limited was required to appear through a licensed attorney by June 17, 2022, while Cristian Sanchez was required to email the order to the defendant by May 27, 2022.
What happened
Sanchez v. BTO America Limited involved a scheduled initial pretrial conference that had already been postponed. The court noted that BTO America Limited had not appeared, and its secretary asked for more time because the company’s owner was overseas.
The court ordered BTO America Limited to appear through a licensed lawyer by June 17, 2022. It warned that default judgment may be entered if the company did not do so. The court also ordered Cristian Sanchez to send the order to the defendant by email by May 27, 2022.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield issued the order on May 25, 2022. The order did not enter default judgment; it set a deadline for the defendant to obtain legal representation and appear.
The detailed version
- Sanchez v. BTO America Limited · No. 1:22-cv-02419
- Lorna Schofield
- May 25, 2022
Background
The court had scheduled an initial pretrial conference for May 25, 2022. In an earlier order, the court postponed that conference and directed Cristian Sanchez to seek a default against BTO America Limited by June 17, 2022. A default is a ruling that may be entered when a party does not defend the case.
BTO America Limited had not appeared in the action. On May 23, 2022, the court received a one-sided communication from the defendant’s secretary, Olivia Aniano, asking for more time because the company’s owner was overseas and could not participate in the scheduled conference call.
Court’s Reasoning
The court stated that a corporation is an artificial legal entity and may appear in federal court only through a licensed attorney. The secretary’s communication did not constitute an appearance by the corporation through counsel.
Order
The court ordered BTO America Limited to appear through counsel by June 17, 2022, or a default judgment may be entered against it. The court separately ordered Sanchez to serve a copy of the order on BTO America Limited by email by May 27, 2022.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield issued this procedural order on May 25, 2022. The order did not itself enter default judgment and did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.