Wallace v. The IM. Group, LLC et al

Filing 22

ORDER granting #21 Letter Motion for Extension of Time to File. Application Granted. So Ordered. (Signed by Judge Vernon S. Broderick on 4/27/21) (yv)

April 26, 2021
VIA ECF
The Honorable Vernon S. Broderick
United States District Judge
United States District Court
40 Foley Square, Room 415
New York, New York 10007

4/27/2021

Re: Wallace v. The IM. Group, LLC, et al., 20-cv-7610 (VSB)
Dear Judge Broderick:
We are the attorneys for Plaintiff Carmela Wallace, personal representative of the
Estate of Jarad Higgins p/k/a Juice WRLD (the “Estate”), in the above-referenced action against
Defendants The IM. Group, LLC and Sean Welch (collectively, “Defendants”). The action
concerns claims for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, negligence,
and an accounting.
We write to respectfully request a 14-day extension of the April 28, 2021 deadline for
the Estate to file its default judgment application against Defendants – the business managers that
controlled and mismanaged Mr. Higgins’s financial affairs before their services were terminated.
[Dkt. No. 20.]1
Under the requested extension, the new date for the Estate’s default judgment motion
under Rule 4.H. of your Honor’s Individual Rules of Practice in Civil Cases would be May 12,
2021. This is the third extension requested by the Estate, and is necessitated, in part, by the
difficulties encountered due to the ongoing pandemic. Given the Defendants have defaulted, this
modest request for an extension is not prejudicial to their interests and, for the reasons provided
below, will assist in the administration of justice.
1

Defendants provided business management services to Plaintiff’s son, Jarad Higgins p/k/a Juice
WRLD, a successful recording artist who tragically died a young man in December 2019. Mr.
Higgins’s song Lucid Dreams, which appears on the RIAA-certified Platinum album Goodbye &
Good Riddance, is a six-time Platinum single that reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mr.
Higgins also performed on more than a dozen other singles that have been either RIAA-certified
Platinum or multi-Platinum, as well as numerous singles that have been RIAA-certified Gold.

The Honorable Vernon S. Broderick
April 26, 2021
Page 2
As we mentioned in our previous letter, our attempts to locate where Mr. Welch is
conducting Defendants’ day-to-day operations have not been fruitful. And because Defendants
have both defaulted in this litigation, the source of the information the Estate seeks to quantify its
damages remains outside of its reach, despite the fiduciary duties that Defendants owed to Mr.
Higgins and now owe to the Estate, and despite the documents the Estate obtained from multiple
third parties last month.
The requested extension is necessary, in part, due to the unexpected departure of an
associate of the firm who was principally assisting on this matter, and the need to further consider
legal issues concerning the scope of the motion. We apologize for the lateness of this request, but
recognized on Friday that it would be necessary. We assure the Court that this requested extension,
which is not sought for purposes of delay, will assist the undersigned in preparing an appropriately
targeted motion for the Court’s consideration.
In particular, as we reported in our previous request, given the absence of the
Defendants, we initially thought the default motion should be targeted solely on the accounting
claim, which would provide us with additional tools to recover much needed documentation. But
we now believe that a motion for a default judgment on liability with respect to the other claims,
i.e., breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and negligence, is appropriate
at this time, which will leave only an inquest for the determination of damages thereafter.
This approach will streamline the default judgment process and provide the Estate with
additional tools to obtain from Defendants the records crucial for the determination of its damages.
If the Estate obtains a judgment and court-ordered accounting, the Court’s attendant enforcement
and contempt powers, coupled with the liability on the other claims, should help the Estate
expeditiously secure the documents it needs.
We thank the Court for its consideration of the requested relief.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Derek A. Williams
Derek A. Williams
DAW:hs