C. v. Fontanez
- Vyskocil
- 1:20-cv-05765
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In W.C. v. Fontanez, Judge Vyskocil denied W.C.’s default-judgment motion without prejudice and ordered an amended complaint.
W.C.’s motion for default judgment was denied without prejudice, and W.C. was required to file an amended complaint meeting the court’s pleading, jurisdiction, venue, and naming requirements.
What happened
In W.C. v. Modesto Fontanez, W.C. asked the court to enter judgment because Fontanez had not appeared. The court held a hearing on February 26, 2021.
The court denied the request without prejudice, allowing W.C. to renew it if Fontanez still failed to appear after W.C. filed and served an amended complaint. The court ordered W.C. to file that complaint by March 29, 2021, using his own name rather than a pseudonym.
Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil also ordered W.C. to properly allege federal jurisdiction and venue, identify his legal claims, and provide supporting facts. The clerk was directed to terminate the pending motion.
The detailed version
- C. v. Fontanez · No. 1:20-cv-05765
- Vyskocil
- Feb. 26, 2021
Background
The case was brought by W.C. against Modesto Fontanez. On February 26, 2021, the court held a hearing on W.C.’s motion for a default judgment. A default judgment is a judgment entered when a defendant has failed to appear or otherwise defend the case.
Ruling
The court denied W.C.’s motion for a default judgment without prejudice to renewal if Fontanez failed to appear after W.C. filed and served an amended complaint. The order does not state the reasons given at the hearing in detail; it refers to the reasons explained on the record.
The court ordered W.C. to file any amended complaint by March 29, 2021. The amended complaint had to be filed in W.C.’s own name rather than under a pseudonym. The court also required W.C. to properly allege diversity jurisdiction, which concerns the parties’ citizenship for federal jurisdiction; properly allege venue; identify his causes of action; and include factual allegations. The court cited the principle that a defendant’s default does not admit legal conclusions, so a court must still determine whether the alleged facts state a valid claim.
The clerk was directed to terminate the motion listed at docket entry 11.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.