Calderon Lara v. Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc.
- Ona Wang
- 1:19-cv-09996-OTW
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Calderon Lara v. Knollwood Road Delicatessen, Judge Nathan ordered service updates and action seeking default judgments, warning of possible dismissal for failure to prosecute.
The plaintiffs were required to address service, possible defaults, and service of the order. The named defendants were affected by the service requirements and the possible default-judgment proceedings.
What happened
In Calderon Lara v. Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc., the plaintiffs had not filed proof that Gerard Fletcher and John Doe Corp. doing business as G & J Deli had been served. The court ordered the plaintiffs to file proof of service, a service update, or a notice voluntarily dismissing those defendants by March 6, 2020.
The court also noted that Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc., Timothy Fletcher, Karmen Doe, and Gamel C Saleh had not filed answers or other responses by their stated deadlines. Within two weeks, the plaintiffs had to seek certificates of default and move for default judgment against those defendants, or explain why they should not do so.
Judge Alison J. Nathan also ordered the plaintiffs to serve the order on every defendant and file proof of that service by March 6, 2020. The court warned that failing to comply could lead to dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims for failure to prosecute, but this order did not itself dismiss the claims.
The detailed version
- Calderon Lara v. Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-09996-OTW
- Ona Wang
- Feb. 28, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs filed their complaint on October 29, 2019. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), they were required to serve all defendants by January 27, 2020.
The court stated that it had not received proof of service for Gerard Fletcher or John Doe Corp. doing business as G & J Deli. The court ordered the plaintiffs, by March 6, 2020, to file proof of service for those defendants, a status update about service, or a notice voluntarily dismissing those defendants under Rule 41(a).
The court also reviewed affidavits of service filed on February 4, 2020. Those affidavits indicated that answers or other responses from Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc., Timothy Fletcher, Karmen Doe, and Gamel C Saleh were due on either December 18, 2019, or January 3, 2020. The court had not received answers from those defendants.
Orders and warning
Within two weeks of the order, the plaintiffs were required either to seek a certificate of default and move for default judgment against Knollwood Road Delicatessen Inc., Timothy Fletcher, Karmen Doe, and Gamel C Saleh, or file a status update explaining why a default-judgment motion should not be filed at that time.
The court further required the plaintiffs to serve the order on all defendants and file affidavits proving service on the court’s electronic filing system by March 6, 2020. Judge Alison J. Nathan warned that failure to comply with the order could result in dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims for failure to prosecute. The order did not state that the claims were dismissed, and it did not decide the underlying claims.
Disposition
The court issued case-management and service directives. It did not grant or deny a merits motion, enter default judgment, or dismiss the claims in this order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.