Dector et al v. RCI Plumbing Corp. et al

Filing 186

ORDER granting 185 Letter Motion to CompelThe deadline for Dector to file its motion for successor liability is stayed. If Dimiceli does not respond to the discovery requests by April 22, 2024, Dector may file a motion to compel. Dector shall file that motion by May 6, 2024. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to terminate the motion, Doc. 185. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos on 4/16/2024) (jca)

Background
Dector and Judgment-Debtors litigated this dispute from 2017 until June of 2020 when they reached
a settlement and entered into a Settlement Agreement. This Court endorsed the Settlement Agreement
and retained jurisdiction to enforce it. However, Judgment-Debtors made no payments and JudgmentCreditors filed their motion to enforce settlement on May 18, 2023, requesting the Court enter
judgment against Debtors, which relief this Court granted on August 21, 2023 (Dkt. 180). At the court
conference of October 3, 2023, Counsel indicated to the Court that they would file a motion for
successor liability by January 15, 2024, and the Court so ordered it be filed by that date. However,
learned additional information regarding a potential successor and requested additional time to
conduct judgment debt discovery, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 69, which the court granted, extending
the deadline to March 15, 2024. The Court then stayed the deadline, following Dimiceli feigned
willingness to participate.
Requests to Judgment-Debtors
Dector served Robert Dimiceli and RCI PLBG, Inc. 1 with Interrogatories and Requests for
Production of Documents on December 1, 2023, under FRCP 26, 33, 34, 37, and 69. No responses
were received by the deadline, January 2, 2024. Dector again propounded Interrogatories and Requests
for Production of Documents in pursuit of judgment to Robert Dimiceli and RCI PLBG, Inc., on
January 11, 2024, with a deadline of February 10, 2024, and again received no response. Also on
January 11, 2024, undersigned counsel attempted to telephone Mr. Dimiceli to confer about the
discovery requests, but Dimiceli did not pick up the phone or call back as the message requested.
As stated above and reported to the Court in the previous filing of March 15 (ECF No. 184), after
months of not responding to judgment debt discovery and process in general, Dimiceli answered the
telephone at alleged successor corporation ProStar on March 14, 2024. On the telephone call, Dimiceli
told undersigned he intended to participate in discovery, to email him the requests at [e-mail]
and to send the documents by mail to 545 Midland Avenue, 11234-6630. He further stated that ProStar
is out of business, when questioned about the entity.
Counsel sent the discovery requests on March 19, 2024, by first-class mail and email; the emailed
documents immediately bounced as undeliverable and the error code indicating undersigned’s email
is blocked. Counsel has since called Dimiceli’s number multiple times, leaving voicemails, leaving a
message with the receptionist, and being unable to leave a message due to a full mailbox. Dector
According to the Federal Bureau of Prison’s website, co-Judgment-Debtor Christopher Chierchio is
incarcerated at FCI Danbury until November of 2026.
1

granted Dimiceli until April 22, 2024 to respond to discovery, but does not anticipate a response and
asks the Court’s permission to file a Motion to Compel responses should the responses not be
received.
Under Fed. R Civ. P. 37(a)(3)(B) and 69(a)(2), the Court has the authority to order both Dimiceli and
RCI to comply with these requests. Dector asks the Court to grant permission to file a motion to
compel discovery responses from Robert Dimiceli and RCI, should the responses remain unanswered
by April 22, 2024.
3rd Party Subpoena to ProStar
Dector served an information subpoena on 3rd party Pro Star Plumbing and Heating & Mechanical
Inc (“ProStar”) via the Secretary of State on February 20, 2024, after failing to achieve service at
their listed place of business. Judgment-Debtors believe Pro Star to be a successor in interest to
RCI, as was briefed to the Court in the Dector motion to enforce the settlement. (Dkt. 179-1).
Counsel’s process server, in February of 2024, attempted to serve the Subpoena at ProStar’s registered
address 545 Midland Avenue, 11234-6630, but on February 15, reported the location is “always
closed”. Instead, the Subpoena was served on the Secretary of State on February 20, 2024. No
response has been received, despite Counsel giving Dimiceli actual notice of the Subpoena on the
telephone call of March 14, 2024.
Dector asks the Court’s permission to file a motion to compel responses from ProStar, most likely to
be filed in tandem with the Motion to Compel responses from Dimiceli, should the April 22, 2024
date pass and his responses go unanswered.
Alternatively, Dector asks the Court to schedule a conference on the filing of his Motions to Compel.
Dated: April 15, 2024
New York, NY

Respectfully submitted,
SLATER SLATER SCHULMAN LLP
_______________________
Geoffrey A. Kalender, Esq.

cc: All counsel of record via ECF
Via 1st Class Mail:
Robert Dimiceli
7110 Avenue X
Brooklyn, NY 11234-6630
RCI PLBG, INC.
545 Midland Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
Encl.:
Exhibit A: Cover Letter to Dimiceli Discovery Requests Sent 3/19
Exhibit B: Cover Letter to RCI Discovery Requests Sent 3/19
Exhibit C: Subpoena to ProStar