Luis Marino Andujar Mateo v. La Fuerza Food Corp. et al.

Background

Luis Marino Andujar Mateo filed this action against La Fuerza Food Corp., Digno Castillo, and Franklin Tejeda on June 9, 2025. The opinion states that the plaintiff purported to serve the defendants between June 20 and June 24, 2025. The defendants had not appeared and appeared to be in default.

Scheduling Order

The court ordered that, if the defendants did not respond to the complaint or appear by November 5, 2025, the plaintiff must file any motion for default judgment by November 12, 2025, following the court’s individual rules and practices. If the plaintiff’s counsel submitted calculations supporting the motion, counsel also had to email native files—files in their original format, such as spreadsheet files—to chambers.

The plaintiff had to serve a copy of the order on the defendants by first-class mail or in-person service within two business days and file proof of service within three business days. If the plaintiff filed a default-judgment motion, the plaintiff had to serve the motion papers by November 14 and file proof of service by November 19. The defendants had to file any opposition by November 26.

Settlement and Termination

If the case had been settled or otherwise terminated, the plaintiff did not have to seek default judgment if a stipulation of discontinuance, voluntary dismissal, or other proof of termination was filed before the conference. The court noted that a settlement and dismissal under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure—including any proposed attorney-fee award—would be reviewed for fairness. Citing Second Circuit precedent, the court stated that stipulated dismissals settling Fair Labor Standards Act claims with prejudice require approval by the district court or the Department of Labor.

Disposition

This was an order scheduling possible default-judgment briefing. The court did not decide whether the plaintiff was entitled to default judgment or resolve the underlying claims.