Travelers Casualty and Surety Company v. Uvezian
- Denise Cote
- 1:15-cv-04212
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Travelers Casualty and Surety Company v. Uvezian, Judge Cote ordered jurisdiction briefing and converted the scheduled default hearing to a telephone hearing.
Travelers was required to address federal jurisdiction and attempt additional contact with Uvezian and his lawyer. Uvezian was directed to participate in the scheduled telephone hearing, where nonappearance could lead to default or default judgment.
What happened
Travelers Casualty and Surety Company v. Uvezian began in 2015, and Travelers relied on a federal law granting jurisdiction over actions on federal bonds. The court noted that the Second Circuit has held that enforcing an indemnification agreement connected to a bond does not qualify as an action on a federal bond. The parties later settled, and Travelers sought a judgment enforcing that settlement.
The defendant did not respond to the filings or the scheduled default-judgment hearing notice. Because New York was under a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 outbreak, the court questioned whether mailed notice had been effective.
Judge Denise Cote ordered Travelers to file a letter addressing whether federal jurisdiction existed under the bond statute or another statute, such as the diversity-jurisdiction statute. She also ordered Travelers’ lawyer to try contacting the defendant and defense counsel. The April 24, 2020 hearing remained scheduled but was changed to a telephone hearing; the order did not enter a default judgment.
The detailed version
- Travelers Casualty and Surety Company v. Uvezian · No. 1:15-cv-04212
- Denise Cote
- Apr. 22, 2020
Background
Travelers filed this action on June 1, 2015, invoking 28 U.S.C. § 1352, which gives federal district courts jurisdiction over actions on bonds executed under federal law. The court cited Second Circuit precedent holding that an action to enforce an indemnification agreement associated with a bond is not an action “on a bond” under that statute. The court also cited a Southern District of New York decision applying that rule to a customs bond.
The parties entered a settlement through a stipulation and order on February 17, 2016. On February 25, 2020, Travelers’ lawyer filed an affidavit seeking a judgment enforcing the settlement. The court ordered that filing to be served on Uvezian and Uvezian’s lawyer and ordered a response by March 27. No response was filed. The court then scheduled a hearing concerning default judgment for April 24 at 2:00 p.m. and ordered service of the hearing order.
Order
The court took notice that New York was under a COVID-19 stay-at-home order and stated that mail service might not have been effective. It therefore ordered Travelers to file, by April 23, 2020, a letter addressing whether the court could properly exercise jurisdiction under § 1352 or another statute, including 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the diversity-jurisdiction statute.
The court also ordered Travelers’ lawyer to try to contact Uvezian through a telephone number and email address identified in the order and to try to contact Uvezian’s lawyer by telephone and email. The default-judgment hearing remained scheduled for April 24 at 2:00 p.m., but the court ordered that it be held by telephone because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The order stated that Uvezian’s failure to appear could result in entry of a default or default judgment.
Disposition and significance
This order did not decide whether the court had jurisdiction and did not enter a default judgment. It required additional jurisdiction information and contact efforts while keeping the default-judgment hearing on the calendar. Judge Denise Cote signed the order on April 22, 2020.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.