Ahluwalia v. Zaika Food Company LLC
- Katharine Parker
- 1:19-cv-10940
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Ahluwalia v. Zaika Food Company LLC, Judge Torres ordered corrected default-judgment materials and warned that inaction could lead to dismissal.
The order directly affected plaintiff Manmohan Ahluwalia, who was required to resubmit the default-judgment materials by July 7, 2021. It also warned that the action involving defendants Zaika Food Company LLC, Mandeep Oberoi, and Pooja Patel could be dismissed if Ahluwalia failed to proceed diligently or comply with the court’s order.
What happened
In Ahluwalia v. Zaika Food Company LLC, Manmohan Ahluwalia submitted materials seeking a default judgment against Zaika Food Company LLC, Mandeep Oberoi, and Pooja Patel.
The court found that the materials did not follow the court’s required procedures. In particular, the required affidavit or declaration from a party with personal knowledge was instead signed by Ahluwalia’s attorney.
The court ordered Ahluwalia to submit corrected materials by July 7, 2021, and warned that continued lack of diligence could result in dismissal. Judge Analisa Torres issued the order.
The detailed version
- Ahluwalia v. Zaika Food Company LLC · No. 1:19-cv-10940
- Katharine Parker
- July 1, 2021
Background
Plaintiff Manmohan Ahluwalia submitted materials supporting a request for default judgment against Zaika Food Company LLC, Mandeep Oberoi, and Pooja Patel. The court reviewed those materials, filed at ECF Nos. 27–28 and 30.
Court’s Analysis
The court concluded that the submitted materials wholly failed to comply with Attachment A to the court’s Individual Practices in Civil Cases. Attachment A required an affidavit or declaration signed by a party with personal knowledge. Ahluwalia submitted an affidavit signed by his attorney, who was not a party with personal knowledge.
Order
The court ordered Ahluwalia to resubmit materials supporting default judgment in accordance with Attachment A by July 7, 2021. The court also warned that, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), an action may be dismissed if a plaintiff fails to prosecute the action or comply with the Federal Rules or a court order. The court stated that this was the third warning that Ahluwalia’s lack of diligence could result in dismissal. The order did not state that the request for default judgment was granted or denied.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.