REILS Finance SPV v. CIP 1300 U Street Owner, LLC

Background

REILS Finance SPV had filed a motion for default judgment against CIP 1300 U Street Owner, LLC, and Robert W. Clippinger. The order states that Clippinger emailed the court with attachments and later participated in a telephone conference. In the email, Clippinger said he would attend without a lawyer, was meeting with an attorney, and believed that a bankruptcy filing involving an underlying entity might create an automatic bankruptcy stay. He also stated that the parties were working toward a refinancing plan. The order did not decide whether any stay applied.

Deadlines and hearing

The court granted defendants one final extension to file opposition to the motion for default judgment, including any argument that the case was subject to an automatic bankruptcy stay. The new deadline was January 19, 2023. If no opposition was filed by then, the court stated that it might enter default judgment as unopposed. REILS Finance SPV’s reply deadline was January 26, 2023, and the court scheduled a default-judgment hearing for February 2, 2023, at 3:45 p.m.

Representation and disposition

The court reminded defendants that a company may appear in federal court only through licensed counsel and that repeated failure to appear through counsel may lead to default judgment against the company. The clerk was directed to record that Clippinger was proceeding without a lawyer unless and until an attorney entered an appearance for him and to mail him a copy of the order. Judge Jesse M. Furman’s order set deadlines and a hearing; it did not grant or deny the motion for default judgment and did not resolve the bankruptcy-stay issue.