Rosario v. Majestic Restaurant Inc
- Rearden
- 1:23-cv-11042
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Rosario v. Majestic Restaurant: Judge Rearden vacated the default and denied Rosario’s default-judgment motion as moot.
Rosarina Rosario, Majestic Restaurant Inc., and Henry Rodriguez. The default was vacated, the default-judgment motion was denied as moot, and the defendants must respond to the complaint and participate in mediation.
What happened
In Rosario v. Majestic Restaurant Inc., Rosarina Rosario sued Majestic Restaurant Inc. and Henry Rodriguez. After they were served, neither defendant responded or appeared by the deadline.
Rosario obtained a certificate of default and later moved for default judgment. Defendants’ counsel appeared and asked the court to vacate the certificate; Rosario did not oppose that request.
Judge Rearden granted Defendants’ motion to vacate the Certificate of Default and denied Rosario’s motion for default judgment as moot. The defendants must respond to the complaint by February 3, 2025, and the parties must participate in early mediation.
The detailed version
- Rosario v. Majestic Restaurant Inc · No. 1:23-cv-11042
- Rearden
- Jan. 12, 2025
Background
Rosarina Rosario filed the complaint on December 20, 2023. She personally served Henry Rodriguez and served Majestic Restaurant Inc. through an authorized officer on January 5, 2024. Their deadline to respond was January 26, 2024, but neither defendant responded or otherwise appeared.
Motions and ruling
Rosario obtained a Certificate of Default as to both defendants on March 29, 2024. Because she had not yet moved for default judgment, the court ordered her to show why the action should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. Rosario then moved for default judgment on April 18, 2024.
On May 30, 2024, counsel for the defendants appeared and moved to vacate the Certificate of Default. Rosario stated that she did not oppose the motion. Judge Rearden granted the defendants’ unopposed motion to vacate the Certificate of Default. The court therefore denied Rosario’s motion for default judgment as moot, meaning the court did not decide that motion because vacating the default eliminated the basis for it.
Next steps
The defendants must respond to the complaint by February 3, 2025. The parties must also participate in early mediation through the District’s Mediation Program under the court’s practices for cases brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The clerk was directed to terminate the docket entries for both motions.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.