August Image, LLC v. Guest of Guest, Inc.
- Sidney Stein
- 1:24-cv-04099
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In August Image v. Guest of a Guest, Judge Stein canceled an in-person damages hearing and ordered written submissions for proposed default-judgment damages.
August Image, LLC and Guest of a Guest, Inc., in connection with the damages inquest for the plaintiff’s proposed default judgment.
What happened
August Image, LLC asked the court to postpone the July 23, 2025 in-person hearing concerning damages sought in its motion for default judgment against Guest of a Guest, Inc. The request was based on the plaintiff’s representation that the defendant had continued not to respond to the plaintiff’s submissions.
The court granted the application. It canceled the inquest hearing and directed that the court’s report and recommendation be based only on the parties’ written submissions.
Judge Gary Stein issued the order on July 21, 2025. The order does not itself state the amount of damages or decide whether default judgment should be entered.
The detailed version
- August Image, LLC v. Guest of Guest, Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-04099
- Sidney Stein
- July 21, 2025
Background
August Image, LLC’s attorney asked the court to adjourn the in-person inquest hearing scheduled for July 23, 2025. The hearing concerned the damages proposed in August Image’s motion for default judgment against Guest of a Guest, Inc. The plaintiff’s letter represented that the defendant had continued not to respond to the plaintiff’s submissions and asked that the damages inquest proceed based only on written submissions.
The request cited decisions stating that a court does not necessarily need to hold a damages hearing if it has a sufficient basis for the damages included in a default judgment. The opinion text does not state the amount of damages sought or provide a final decision on the motion for default judgment.
Ruling
The court granted the application. Under the court’s May 15, 2025 order, it canceled the inquest hearing scheduled for July 23, 2025. The court stated that it would issue a report and recommendation based solely on the parties’ written submissions.
Effect
This order changes how the damages inquest will be conducted; it does not, by itself, award damages or enter default judgment. Judge Gary Stein signed the order as a United States magistrate judge for the Southern District of New York.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.