I am organizing this fundraiser for my friend Dimitri Bediner, who urgently needs experienced appellate counsel in a New York property case involving real estate he owned for more than 20 years. Dimitri is now pursuing an active appeal in the Appellate Division, Third Department, and needs legal representation before critical court deadlines.

Dimitri is the defendant in Dacha Luxe LLC v. Dimitri Bediner, Sullivan County Supreme Court Index No. E2023-1601, involving a complicated dispute concerning property in South Fallsburg, New York. The case ultimately resulted in a default judgment after Dimitri missed a virtual court conference. Dimitri maintains that he did not receive the conference link. The dispute was therefore not resolved through a conventional trial on the merits.

Dimitri appealed to the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, Appeal No. CV-25-1530.

What makes this especially difficult is that Dimitri has been trying to navigate much of this litigation on his own while dealing with serious medical and communication limitations. He has suffered major health problems including a stroke, brain surgery, hospitalization, and lengthy rehabilitation. He continues to experience speech and communication difficulties, and the court recently granted him an ADA accommodation for an upcoming appearance.

His appeal has already faced a major procedural obstacle. While representing himself, Dimitri was unable to properly complete the technical Record on Appeal required by appellate procedure, and the appeal was dismissed. He promptly sought relief, and the Third Department later restored the appeal.

The appeal is active today, but the remaining deadlines are critical.

Because the parties did not reach an agreement concerning the contents of the appellate record, Dimitri followed instructions from the Third Department Clerk and returned to Sullivan County Supreme Court seeking an order settling the Record on Appeal. A court conference concerning that motion is scheduled for September 24, 2026.

Dimitri’s current deadline to perfect the appeal is October 30, 2026.

We are raising $50,000 to help Dimitri obtain qualified New York appellate counsel before these deadlines pass. Funds will help cover immediate attorney review of the case, settlement and preparation of the appellate record, legal research, preparation and filing of the appellate brief, necessary motions, reply briefing, oral argument preparation, transcripts, filing and printing costs, service expenses, and related legal work.

Funds raised through this campaign will be received through RenovateRx and used for Dimitri Bediner’s legal representation and related appellate expenses.

We are not asking donors to decide the underlying lawsuit or assume that any disputed allegation has already been proven. We are asking for something much simpler: help Dimitri obtain professional legal representation so that his active appeal can be properly presented and decided through the appellate process rather than lost because a medically impaired pro se litigant could not navigate complex appellate procedure alone.

Any contribution, large or small, will help. If you cannot donate, please share this fundraiser with others.

The appeal is still alive. There is still time to help Dimitri.