Attorney withdrawing from representation of apparently absentee plaintiff

PHILADELPHIA – The counsel for a plaintiff who filed a writ of summons in June 2014 for an alleged fall sustained at a Philadelphia Dollar Tree store location is seeking to withdraw their appearance, according to court records.

Philadelphia resident Juan Nieves initiated litigation against Dollar Tree’s location on Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section and its corporate headquarters in Chesapeake, Va., for a fall he claims he suffered at that Philadelphia location.

Court records show Nieves failed to follow up his initial writ of summons with a formal complaint – therefore, a Judgment of Non Pros was entered against him on Sep. 26.

Yet, the defendants filed a motion to vacate that judgment on Oct. 3. The motion was granted, and the defendants attempted to make inquiries of discovery with regards to Nieves and his account of the alleged fall.

However, Nieves apparently did not answer repeated requests to comply with and participate in the discovery process by November of last year, and also failed to comply with a Dec. 11 court order compelling him to do.

As a result, Nieves was found in contempt of court of that order in January and sanctioned $500. Further, he was precluded by the court from referring to any “documents, witnesses or testimony, exhibits or evidence” requested by the defense, should he decide to pursue the litigation further.

To date, court records show Nieves has not responded to these decisions.

His counsel, Rania M. Major, filed a motion to withdraw as his attorney last September, which the court heard on May 20.

Additionally, an arbitration hearing in this matter has tentatively been scheduled for July 8 at the court’s Arbitration Center on JFK Blvd.

The defendants are represented by Kevin L. Connors of Connors Law in Exton.

Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 140600222

From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com