Rabinowitz v. Equifax Information Services, LLC
- Jesse Furman
- 1:19-cv-09536
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rabinowitz v. Equifax, Judge Furman dismissed settled claims against Equifax without prejudice and set deadlines for possible default-judgment proceedings against Citibank.
Equifax Information Services, LLC was terminated as a party after the claims against it were dismissed and discontinued, subject to the stated 60-day reopening provision if the settlement was not completed. Citibank remained subject to possible default-judgment proceedings because it had not answered or appeared. Malka Rabinowitz was required to follow the deadlines and filing procedures for any such motion.
What happened
In Rabinowitz v. Equifax Information Services, LLC, Malka Rabinowitz’s claims against Equifax were reported as settled. Citibank had been served with the complaint but had not answered or otherwise appeared.
The court dismissed and discontinued the claims against Equifax without costs and allowed the action to be reopened as to Equifax within 60 days if the settlement was not completed. The court also set deadlines for a possible motion for default judgment against Citibank, but it did not enter a default judgment.
Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered any default-judgment motion against Citibank filed by January 6, 2020, with any opposition due January 13, 2020, and scheduled a January 29, 2020, hearing if such a motion was filed. The court terminated Equifax as a party and canceled the January 15, 2020, conference.
The detailed version
- Rabinowitz v. Equifax Information Services, LLC · No. 1:19-cv-09536
- Jesse Furman
- Dec. 12, 2019
Background
The court was advised that all claims against Defendant Equifax Information Services, LLC had been settled. Plaintiff Malka Rabinowitz had also sued Citibank, N.A. The opinion states that Rabinowitz filed the complaint on October 16, 2019, and that Citibank was served on October 18, 2019. Citibank had not answered the complaint or otherwise appeared by the date of the order.
Rulings concerning Equifax
The court ordered that the claims against Equifax, and Equifax alone, be dismissed and discontinued without costs. The order stated that the action could be reopened as to Equifax within 60 days from the order’s date if the settlement was not consummated. Any application to reopen had to be filed by that deadline. The court also stated that, if the parties wanted the court to retain jurisdiction to enforce the settlement, they had to submit the settlement agreement by the same deadline for the court to approve it as an order. The Clerk was directed to terminate Equifax as a party.
Proceedings concerning Citibank
The court did not enter a default judgment against Citibank. Instead, it set procedures for a possible motion for default judgment. Any such motion had to be filed by January 6, 2020, and Citibank’s opposition was due January 13, 2020. If a motion was filed, Citibank was ordered to appear and explain on January 29, 2020, why default judgment should not be entered. Before that date, Rabinowitz had to file a proposed default-judgment order electronically for the Clerk’s approval.
The court cautioned that a corporation may appear in federal court only through licensed counsel and stated that a default judgment may be entered against a corporation that repeatedly fails to appear through counsel. If Citibank appeared, opposed the motion, or sought a retroactive extension of time to respond to the complaint, the January 29 conference would instead be treated as the initial pretrial conference, subject to the court’s pre-conference requirements. The January 15, 2020, conference was canceled. Judge Jesse M. Furman signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.