Guerrero Marin v. Nelson Services Systems, Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:20-cv-08607
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Guerrero Marin v. Nelson Services, Judge Furman denied plaintiffs’ request for judgment based on defendants’ failure to respond after defense counsel appeared.
The plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment was denied. The defendants were ordered to answer or otherwise respond by January 21, 2021, and the parties’ initial pretrial conference was reinstated and postponed to February 25, 2021.
What happened
In Guerrero Marin v. Nelson Services Systems, Inc., the plaintiffs filed their complaint on October 15, 2020, and served the defendants four days later. The defendants did not timely answer or otherwise respond.
The court directed the plaintiffs to seek a judgment based on that failure and scheduled a hearing. The plaintiffs filed that motion on December 15, 2020, but defense counsel entered an appearance on January 7, 2021. The docket then showed appearances for two defendants, although the notice appeared to cover all named defendants.
Judge Jesse M. Furman denied the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment. He ordered the defendants to answer or otherwise respond by January 21, 2021, cancelled the scheduled hearing, reinstated and postponed the initial pretrial conference to February 25, 2021, and directed the parties to follow pre-conference procedures.
The detailed version
- Guerrero Marin v. Nelson Services Systems, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-08607
- Jesse Furman
- Jan. 8, 2021
Background
Rafael Guerrero Marin sued Nelson Services Systems, Inc., doing business as Nelson Services, and other defendants, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
The plaintiffs filed the complaint on October 15, 2020. The defendants were served on October 19, 2020, but did not timely answer or otherwise respond. The court directed the plaintiffs to file any motion for default judgment by December 15, 2020, set a deadline for opposition, and scheduled a hearing concerning whether default judgment should be entered. The plaintiffs filed their motion for default judgment on December 15, 2020; that motion remained pending when this order was issued.
Appearance by Defendants
On January 7, 2021, counsel filed a notice of appearance on behalf of “the above-named Defendants.” Although the notice appeared to cover all defendants, the docket then reflected appearances only by Nelson Realty Services Inc., doing business as Nelson Realty, and Nelson Gisbert, also known as Nelson, Jr.
Ruling and Case Management
Judge Jesse M. Furman denied the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment. The court cited the Second Circuit’s stated strong preference for resolving disputes on their merits and the defendants’ appearance. The court ordered the defendants to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint by January 21, 2021.
The court cancelled the January 21 hearing. It reinstated the initial pretrial conference and adjourned it to February 25, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. The parties were ordered to follow the previously specified pre-conference procedures, including submitting a joint letter and proposed case-management plan and participating in an early mediation session. The Clerk was directed to update the docket to reflect appearances by all named defendants and terminate the plaintiffs’ default-judgment motion docket entry.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.