Infinity Transportation MSN 6651, LLC v. Synergy Aerospace Corp.
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:19-cv-00209-RA-SN
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Infinity Transportation v. Synergy Aerospace, Judge Abrams granted default judgment for breach of a guarantee and referred damages to Judge Netburn.
Infinity Transportation MSN 6651, LLC obtained default judgment establishing Synergy Aerospace Corp.’s liability for breaching the replacement guarantee. The amount of Infinity’s damages remained to be determined by Judge Sarah Netburn.
What happened
Infinity Transportation MSN 6651, LLC sued Synergy Aerospace Corp. to enforce a guarantee connected to an aircraft lease after the lessee stopped making required payments. Synergy answered initially, but its lawyer withdrew, and Synergy did not obtain new counsel or respond to the court’s orders.
The court treated the well-supported allegations as admitted for purposes of liability. It found that Synergy had breached a valid replacement guarantee by failing to pay after Infinity demanded payment.
Judge Ronnie Abrams granted Infinity’s motion for default judgment and referred the case to Judge Sarah Netburn to determine the amount of damages. The court did not set the damages amount in this order.
The detailed version
- Infinity Transportation MSN 6651, LLC v. Synergy Aerospace Corp. · No. 1:19-cv-00209-RA-SN
- Ronnie Abrams
- Jan. 19, 2021
Background
Infinity Transportation MSN 6651, LLC sued Synergy Aerospace Corp. to enforce a guarantee concerning an Airbus A320-200 aircraft. In 2015, Vermillion Aviator (Four) Limited leased the aircraft to Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S/A, doing business as Avianca Brasil, and Synergy guaranteed the lease obligations. Infinity later purchased the aircraft. In 2017, Vermillion assigned its rights under the lease to Infinity, and Synergy entered into a replacement guarantee with Infinity. That guarantee required Synergy to pay the guaranteed obligations upon Infinity’s demand and allowed related legal actions in New York state or federal courts in Manhattan.
Oceanair failed to make required rent payments. After a forbearance agreement and further defaults, Infinity demanded payment from Synergy and later terminated the lease and repossessed the aircraft through proceedings in Brazil.
Procedural History
Synergy was served with the complaint and answered it through counsel. Its counsel later asked to withdraw, and Synergy did not oppose the request, obtain new counsel, or respond to later court orders. The Clerk of Court issued a certificate of default. Because it was initially unclear whether Synergy had properly received certain orders and the certificate, the court required Infinity to serve them again. Infinity then moved for default judgment.
Liability
A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party fails to defend the case. The court explained that a default admits the complaint’s well-pleaded allegations about liability, but it does not automatically admit the amount of damages. Applying New York breach-of-contract law, the court found that Infinity established the required elements: a valid agreement, Infinity’s performance, Synergy’s breach, and resulting damages. Specifically, the court found that the replacement guarantee was valid and enforceable and that Synergy breached it by failing to pay Infinity’s guaranteed obligations after demand.
Damages and Disposition
The court did not determine the amount of damages. It granted Infinity’s request to refer the matter to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for an inquest—a proceeding to determine the amount of damages based on evidence. The court granted Infinity’s motion for default judgment and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate docket items 52, 59, and 67.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.