Label Health, LLC v. Haywire Consulting, Inc.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:20-cv-05640
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Label Health v. Haywire, Magistrate Judge Aaron ordered damages-inquest submissions after Judge Broderick found Label Health entitled to default judgment.
Label Health, LLC must submit evidence and proposed damages findings; Haywire Consulting, Inc. and the other defendants may respond.
What happened
Label Health, LLC v. Haywire Consulting, Inc. concerns the next steps after Judge Broderick found Label Health entitled to a default judgment. This order does not decide the amount of damages.
Label Health must submit proposed factual findings, legal conclusions or a legal memorandum, supporting affidavits and documents, and the exact amount of money it seeks. The defendants may respond, and the court may decide damages using written submissions alone.
Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron issued the scheduling order and set deadlines of March 24, 2021, for Label Health’s submission and April 21, 2021, for any defense response.
The detailed version
- Label Health, LLC v. Haywire Consulting, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-05640
- Vernon Broderick
- Feb. 22, 2021
Background
Judge Broderick previously found that Label Health, LLC was entitled to a default judgment against Haywire Consulting, Inc. and the other defendants. Judge Broderick referred the case to Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron for an inquest—an inquiry into the damages and other monetary relief owed to Label Health.
Label Health’s required submission
By March 24, 2021, Label Health must serve the defendants and file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning all damages and any other monetary relief permitted by the default judgment. Its submission must state the exact dollar amount or other monetary relief sought.
The proposed factual findings must connect the requested damages to the legal claims on which liability was established, explain how Label Health calculated the amount, and be supported by affidavits or documentary evidence. Each proposed finding must cite the supporting affidavit paragraph or document page. Any allegations about liability must cite the appropriate paragraph of the complaint.
Instead of conclusions of law, Label Health may submit a legal memorandum explaining the principles supporting its damages claims, including any request for interest or attorneys’ fees. The papers must also include an affidavit from a person with personal knowledge establishing facts supporting the court’s personal jurisdiction over the defendants and subject-matter jurisdiction over the case.
Response and possible hearing
The defendants may respond to Label Health’s submission. Any response must be served on Label Health’s counsel and filed by April 21, 2021.
The court stated that it may decide the damages inquest based only on the parties’ written submissions. A party seeking an evidentiary hearing must explain why written submissions would not be sufficient and describe the witnesses and evidence it would present. Any request for attorneys’ fees must include contemporaneous time records, each attorney’s years of bar admission and hourly rate, and the legal basis for the requested fees.
Ruling
Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron issued a scheduling order setting the procedures and deadlines for determining damages. The order did not award a specific amount of damages or conduct the inquest itself.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.