Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company v. Consigli & Associates, LLC
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:21-cv-00934
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company v. Consigli & Associates, LLC, Judge Engelmayer gave HIG Services, Inc. until August 31 to retain counsel before deciding counsel’s withdrawal.
HIG Services, Inc. and its counsel, Kushnick Pallaci PLLC; the order also preserves the existing deadlines for the other parties.
What happened
In Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company v. Consigli & Associates, LLC, Kushnick Pallaci PLLC asked to withdraw as counsel for defendant HIG Services, Inc. Kushnick Pallaci said HIG had stopped operating, could not pay for more legal services, and did not oppose the withdrawal.
The court explained that a company cannot defend itself without a lawyer. It gave HIG until August 31, 2023, to hire new counsel and have that lawyer formally appear. All other deadlines remained in place.
The court said it expected to grant Kushnick Pallaci’s motion if new counsel did not appear by the deadline, or sooner if new counsel appeared earlier. It also warned that it would have to consider motions for a judgment against HIG if HIG remained unrepresented. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the order.
The detailed version
- Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company v. Consigli & Associates, LLC · No. 1:21-cv-00934
- Paul Engelmayer
- Aug. 17, 2023
Background
Kushnick Pallaci PLLC moved to withdraw as counsel for defendant HIG Services, Inc. Kushnick Pallaci represented that HIG had “ceased all operations,” could not and would not pay for additional legal services in this case or any other case, and did not oppose the motion.
Court’s analysis
The court relied on the rule that a layperson cannot represent a separate legal entity such as a corporation. Because HIG is a legal entity, it could continue defending the lawsuit only through a lawyer.
Order
The court did not grant the withdrawal motion immediately. Instead, based on the representation that HIG had stopped operating, it stated that it expected to grant the motion. The court gave HIG until August 31, 2023, to retain new counsel and have that lawyer formally appear. The court would grant Kushnick Pallaci’s motion at that time if successor counsel had not appeared, and would grant it earlier if successor counsel appeared before then. The court stated that, if HIG remained unrepresented after August 30, 2023, it would be compelled to consider motions for a judgment against HIG because of its failure to defend. All other deadlines remained in place.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.