Stines v. Sanchez
- Gabriel Gorenstein
- 1:21-cv-07884
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Stines v. Bernal, Judge Gorenstein granted substitution of Alvaro Sanchez for deceased defendant Joseph Bernal as estate representative.
The ruling affects Kimberly Stines, Alvaro Sanchez in his stated capacity as curator and attorney ad litem of Joseph Bernal’s estate, and the estate-related substitution of deceased defendant Joseph Bernal.
What happened
In Stines v. Bernal, Kimberly Stines asked the court to replace defendant Joseph Bernal, who had died, with Alvaro Sanchez, whom a Florida state court appointed as curator and attorney ad litem of Bernal’s estate. The motion was unopposed.
The court explained that the federal rules allow substitution when a party dies and the claim continues, and that the substitute must be the deceased party’s successor or estate representative. The court found that Sanchez was the proper party because of the Florida appointment.
Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein granted Stines’s motion. The clerk was directed to substitute Sanchez for Bernal, and Stines was ordered to serve Sanchez within 30 days and file proof of service.
The detailed version
- Stines v. Sanchez · No. 1:21-cv-07884
- Gabriel Gorenstein
- May 5, 2023
Background
The case was removed to federal court by Fordham University on September 21, 2021. Kimberly Stines later filed an amended complaint. She informed the court that defendant Joseph Bernal had died and moved to substitute Alvaro Sanchez as “Curator/Attorney Ad Litem of the Estate of Joseph W. Bernal, a/k/a Joseph Worthington Bernal, Deceased.” The motion was unopposed.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(a)(1) provides that, when a party dies and the claim is not extinguished, the court may order substitution of the proper party. The proper party may be a successor of the deceased party or a representative lawfully designated by state authority to represent the deceased person’s estate.
Court’s ruling
The court found that Stines had provided documentation showing that a Florida state court appointed Sanchez as curator and attorney ad litem of Bernal’s estate. Based on that documentation, the court determined that Sanchez was the proper party for substitution.
The court granted Stines’s motion to substitute. The clerk was directed to substitute “Alvaro Sanchez as Curator/Attorney Ad Litem of the Estate of Joseph W. Bernal, a/k/a Joseph Worthington Bernal” for existing defendant Joseph Bernal. Stines was directed to serve Sanchez within 30 days and file proof of service.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.