Opinion
CV-08-728.
Decided February 11, 2010.
Mitchell L. Williamson, Esq., Pressler Pressler, Attorneys for the Plaintiff, New York, NY.
Michael E. Cerrito, Defendant, pro se, Edison, NJ.
Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, Albany, NY.
By Decision and Order of this Court dated December 4, 2009, this Court ordered a hearing to determine whether sanctions needed to be imposed upon plaintiff's attorneys for filing a frivolous debt collection suit without first assessing the legal and factual basis of the claim. Palisades Collection, LLC. v. Cerrito, 2009 NY Slip Op. 52433U (Poughkeepsie City Court, Dec. 4, 2009 ). A hearing was ordered by this Court and scheduled to be held January 25, 2010. Notice of the hearing was sent to Pressler Pressler law firm on or about December 23, 2009. The notice instructed Pressler and Pressler law firm that they must appear before this Court on said hearing date. On January 25, 2010, no attorney appeared on behalf of Pressler Pressler law firm. No explanation was offered for their failure to appear, despite being provided adequate notice of the scheduled appearance for the attorney sanction hearing. The Pressler Pressler law firm failed to notify the court in advance that they would be unable to appear. No substitute counsel appeared in court at the time previously scheduled to proffer an explanation of the attorney's nonappearance. No affirmation of actual engagement was ever filed with the Court. To date, no explanation or form of communication has been made setting forth an excuse their failure to appear. The waste of judicial resources this law firm has saddled this Court with by failing to follow standard proper procedures in accordance with the C.P.L.R. and their demonstration of contempt for this Court's Order warrants the imposition of sanctions in accordance with the power vested in this Court through the authority of 22 N.Y.C.R.R. § 130-1.1. See, Rizzuto v. Rizzuto, 5 AD3d 579 (2d Dept. 2004).
THEREFORE, based upon the foregoing, it is now
ORDERED that the law firm of Pressler Pressler are hereby sanctioned and ordered to pay $1,000.00 in accordance with 22 N.Y.C.R.R. § 130-1.3.
SO ORDERED.