M & J Mechanical Corp. v. Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc.
- Garnett
- 1:24-cv-03336
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In M&J Mechanical v. Caldwell & Walsh, Judge Garnett adopted a damages recommendation awarding $2,751,245.34 plus interest from Caldwell and closed the case.
M&J Mechanical Corp. and Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc. The adopted recommendation awards M&J Mechanical $2,751,245.34 plus statutory interest from Caldwell only, and the case was closed. The opinion does not state a damages award against Michael Ferrone.
What happened
M&J Mechanical Corp. had obtained default judgment against Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc. on six claims and against Michael Ferrone on two claims. The court then sent the question of damages to Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.
Judge Lehrburger recommended awarding M&J Mechanical $2,751,245.34 plus interest from Caldwell only. The interest was recommended at 1% per month, or 12% per year, beginning March 27, 2024. No party objected to the recommendation.
Judge Margaret M. Garnett reviewed the record, found no clear error, adopted the recommendation in full, directed the Clerk to enter judgment, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- M & J Mechanical Corp. v. Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-03336
- Garnett
- July 9, 2025
Background
On October 3, 2024, the court granted M&J Mechanical Corp.’s motion for default judgment. The judgment was against Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc. on Counts 1 through 6 of the complaint and against Michael Ferrone on Counts 5 and 6. The court referred the damages issue to Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger for an inquest, meaning a proceeding to determine the amount of damages after default.
Report and Recommendation
On April 23, 2025, Magistrate Judge Lehrburger recommended that M&J Mechanical receive $2,751,245.34 in damages from Caldwell only, plus statutory interest. The recommendation stated that interest should run from March 27, 2024, at 1% per month, or 12% per year, until judgment. The parties were given 14 days to object, but no objections were filed.
Ruling
Because there were no timely objections, Judge Margaret M. Garnett reviewed the record for clear error. She found none and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment accordingly and close the case.
Classification
This is a procedural order under the stated classification rules because it concerns default judgment and the resulting damages determination, rather than an adversarial decision on the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.