Boccara Gallery Inc. v. Boccara Art, Inc.
- Rearden
- 1:22-cv-02263
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Boccara Gallery v. Boccara Art, Judge Rearden dismissed the action for failure to prosecute after the corporate plaintiff remained without counsel.
The dismissal affected the action brought by Boccara Gallery Inc., Didier Marien, and the other plaintiffs against Boccara Art, Inc. and the other defendants, after Boccara Gallery Inc. remained without counsel and the plaintiffs did not comply with the court's order.
What happened
In Boccara Gallery Inc. v. Boccara Art, Inc., the court had allowed Deana Davidian and Marc Hankin to withdraw as counsel for Boccara Gallery Inc. and Didier Marien. The court warned that Boccara Gallery, a corporation, could not continue without a lawyer.
The court ordered Boccara Gallery to obtain new counsel or explain by September 28, 2023, why its claims should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. The plaintiffs did neither and gave no other indication that they intended to continue the case.
Judge Jennifer H. Rearden dismissed the action for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Boccara Gallery Inc. v. Boccara Art, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-02263
- Rearden
- Feb. 21, 2024
Background
Deana Davidian and Marc Hankin had represented Plaintiffs Boccara Gallery Inc. and Didier Marien. On August 30, 2023, the court granted their respective requests to withdraw as counsel because they had provided satisfactory reasons for withdrawal.
The court warned that the withdrawal risked leaving Boccara Gallery Inc., a corporate entity, without legal representation. The court stated that this could lead to dismissal for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). It ordered that by September 28, 2023, either new counsel had to appear for Boccara Gallery Inc. or Boccara Gallery Inc. had to show why its claims should not be dismissed.
Court’s Ruling
The plaintiffs did neither. They also did not otherwise indicate that they intended to continue prosecuting the action. Judge Jennifer H. Rearden therefore ordered that the action be dismissed for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b). The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.