Antetokounmpo v. Paleo Productions LLC

Background

The opinion states that Judge John G. Koeltl had granted default judgment against both defendants, Paleo Productions LLC and Nick Massie. A default judgment is a judgment entered after a defendant fails to defend the case. Judge Koeltl referred the matter to Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger for an inquest, meaning a proceeding to determine the damages owed.

Required filing by plaintiff

The order required Giannis Antetokounmpo to serve the defendants and file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning all damages and any other monetary relief allowed by the default judgment. The deadline was March 31, 2021. The filing had to end with a concise statement of the amount or other monetary relief requested, including the exact dollar amount.

The proposed findings had to connect the requested damages to the legal claims for which liability had been established, explain how the requested amount was calculated, and include support from one or more affidavits. The affidavits could attach documents supporting the damages. Each proposed finding had to cite the supporting affidavit paragraph or document page. The filing also had to include an affidavit from someone with personal knowledge establishing facts supporting personal jurisdiction over the defendants and subject-matter jurisdiction over the case. Any allegations about liability had to cite the appropriate paragraphs of the complaint.

Attorney fees and legal briefing

Any request for attorney fees had to include contemporaneous time records identifying, for each attorney, the service date, hours worked, and work performed. Counsel also had to provide the attorneys’ years of bar admission, hourly rates, and information supporting the reasonableness of those rates. The legal conclusions had to explain the legal basis for any attorney-fee request, including why the attorneys involved were entitled to fees.

Instead of separate conclusions of law, the plaintiff could submit a legal memorandum explaining the principles applicable to the requested damages, interest, attorney fees, or other monetary relief.

Defendants’ response and possible hearing

The defendants had to send any response to the plaintiff’s counsel and file it with the court by April 14, 2021. The court stated that it might decide the damages inquiry solely from the parties’ written submissions. A party seeking an evidentiary hearing had to explain why a written submission was insufficient and describe the witnesses and evidence that would be presented.

Service and disposition

The order provided that service on the defendants at their corporate address and through the New York Department of State would be sufficient. It also required courtesy copies of filed documents to be sent or delivered to Magistrate Judge Lehrburger.

Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger therefore set procedures and deadlines for determining damages after the previously entered default judgment. This order did not state the amount of damages awarded.