Feliz v. Andra Group, LP
- Katherine Failla
- 1:23-cv-00163
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Feliz v. Andra Group, Judge Failla extended service time, denied alternate service without prejudice, and adjourned the initial conference.
Roberta Feliz received additional time to serve Andra Group, LP and may renew her request for alternative service. Andra Group was not ordered to retain counsel yet, but the court warned that it cannot represent itself and risks default after service if it does not appear.
What happened
In Feliz v. Andra Group, Roberta Feliz asked the court for more time to serve Andra Group, LP, permission to use another service method, and an adjournment of the initial pretrial conference. Her lawyer said the company had not accepted service and had not hired a lawyer.
The court extended Feliz’s deadline to serve the company to April 20, 2023, and adjourned the initial pretrial conference until further order. It denied the request for alternate service without prejudice, allowing Feliz to renew it later with more detail. The court also required an update about service by April 24, 2023.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla did not order Andra Group to hire a lawyer because it had not yet been served. She warned that a corporation cannot represent itself in federal court and may face a default judgment if it does not appear after service.
The detailed version
- Feliz v. Andra Group, LP · No. 1:23-cv-00163
- Katherine Failla
- Mar. 17, 2023
Background
Roberta Feliz’s lawyer asked the court to extend the deadlines for the initial pretrial conference and related submissions, require Andra Group, LP to retain counsel, and permit alternative methods of serving the summons and complaint. The lawyer represented that process servers had tried to serve Andra Group on or around February 1, February 3, February 21, and March 6, 2023, at three addresses associated with the company, but were refused entry or told that the company’s representatives would not accept the documents. The letter also stated that Andra Group had not hired counsel and that settlement discussions had reached an impasse.
Rulings
The court granted the application in part. It extended Feliz’s time to serve Andra Group until April 20, 2023. It denied, without prejudice, the request for alternative service, meaning the request could be renewed. If Feliz renewed that request, the court directed her to describe the alternative methods already attempted and propose a specific alternative method.
The court adjourned the initial pretrial conference scheduled for March 22, 2023, pending further order. It required Feliz to file a letter by April 24, 2023, updating the court on the status of service. Because Andra Group had not yet been served, the court did not order it to retain counsel at that time. The court advised that corporations may not represent themselves in federal court and that Andra Group risked a default if it failed to appear after being served. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 8, and Feliz was directed to serve a copy of the order on Andra Group.
Classification
This is a procedural order concerning service, scheduling, and representation. The court did not decide the underlying claims in the case.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.