Esquivel v. Aguilar
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:20-cv-04857
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Esquivel v. Aguilar, Judge Krause ordered proposed evidence and calculations for damages after defendants defaulted.
The order directly affected Jeronimo Victoriano Esquivel and the defendants Antonio Aguilar, Gladys Barsolas, Ayza G. Barzola, and La Gladys Restaurant Inc. d/b/a Gladys Restaurant by setting procedures and deadlines for determining damages and other monetary relief.
What happened
In Esquivel v. Aguilar, the court had referred the case for an inquiry into damages after the defendants defaulted. The opinion does not state the underlying legal claims or the amount of liability established.
Judge Andrew E. Krause ordered the plaintiff to serve and file proposed findings about damages and any other permitted monetary relief, including attorneys’ fees and costs. The plaintiff had to support the requested amounts with affidavits, documents, citations, and, for fees, contemporaneous time records.
Judge Krause set December 17, 2020, for the plaintiff’s filing and January 14, 2021, for any defendants’ responses. He stated that the damages inquiry could be decided from written submissions alone unless a party explained why an evidentiary hearing was needed.
The detailed version
- Esquivel v. Aguilar · No. 7:20-cv-04857
- Vincent Briccetti
- Nov. 19, 2020
Background
Jeronimo Victoriano Esquivel sued Antonio Aguilar, Gladys Barsolas, Ayza G. Barzola, and La Gladys Restaurant Inc. d/b/a Gladys Restaurant. The opinion states that the defendants defaulted and that the case was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause for an inquest on damages. An inquest is a court process for determining the amount of damages after liability has been established, including after a defendant’s default.
The opinion does not identify the legal claims, describe the underlying conduct, state the amount of liability, or specify whether a default judgment had already been entered beyond referring to monetary relief permitted under the default judgment.
Order
Judge Krause ordered the plaintiff to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning all damages and other monetary relief, including attorneys’ fees and costs, by December 17, 2020. Before filing, the plaintiff had to serve the defendants by mail at their last known addresses and include a copy of the order. The plaintiff also had to file proof of service.
The proposed filing had to include a concluding paragraph stating the exact dollar amount sought and had to connect the proposed damages to the legal claims on which liability had been established. It also had to explain how the plaintiff calculated the proposed amounts and support them with one or more affidavits and any necessary documentary evidence. Each proposed finding of fact had to cite the supporting affidavit paragraphs or documentary pages. Any request for attorneys’ fees had to include contemporaneous time records identifying the date of service, hours worked, and work performed by each attorney or other timekeeper.
Deadlines and Hearing
The defendants could file responses by January 14, 2021. Judge Krause stated that the inquest could be conducted solely on the parties’ written submissions. A party seeking an evidentiary hearing on damages or other monetary relief had to explain why written submissions were insufficient, identify the witnesses it would call, and describe the evidence it would present.
Disposition
The court issued an order directing the procedures and deadlines for determining damages after the defendants’ default. It did not determine a damages amount in this opinion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.