Bautisa v. TAP Air Portugal
- Rochon
- 1:24-cv-00503
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bautisa v. TAP Air Portugal, Judge Rochon rescheduled the conference and warned that the case might be dismissed if Bautisa did not continue.
Javier Bautisa and TAP Air Portugal; the order set requirements for Bautisa’s continued prosecution of the case and rescheduled the parties’ initial pretrial conference.
What happened
In Bautisa v. TAP Air Portugal, the court said Javier Bautisa did not attend a required initial conference and did not contact the court about his absence. TAP Air Portugal attended and reported that Bautisa had refused to discuss the case and said he would not attend.
Because Bautisa was representing himself, the court rescheduled the conference for April 9, 2024, and required him to confirm by April 2 that he intended to continue the case and would attend.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon warned that if Bautisa did not confirm his continued prosecution by April 9, the court would adjourn the conference and might dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The order did not dismiss the case.
The detailed version
- Bautisa v. TAP Air Portugal · No. 1:24-cv-00503
- Rochon
- Mar. 19, 2024
Background
TAP Air Portugal removed the case from New York state court on January 24, 2024. On February 21, the court ordered the parties to attend an initial pretrial conference on March 19. The docket showed that the order was mailed to Javier Bautisa’s address on file.
The court stated that it had received no communications from Bautisa. TAP Air Portugal told the court that it had made multiple good-faith efforts to contact him. After the court asked the defendant to try again, the defendant reported that Bautisa had said he would not attend the scheduled conference. TAP Air Portugal attended the March 19 conference, but Bautisa did not appear and did not contact the court about a conflict or other problem.
Court’s action
Because Bautisa was representing himself, the court rescheduled the initial pretrial conference for April 9, 2024, at noon. The court ordered Bautisa to inform it by April 2 whether he intended to continue prosecuting the case and to confirm that he would attend the rescheduled conference.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon stated that Bautisa’s failure to attend a court-ordered conference wasted the defendant’s time and expense and disregarded the court’s order. The court warned that if Bautisa did not confirm his continued prosecution by April 9, it would adjourn the conference and might also dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. The order itself did not dismiss the action. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Bautisa, and TAP Air Portugal was directed to email and mail it and file proof of service.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.