Medina v. The City of New York

Background

Zahirah Medina brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal civil-rights statute, and New York law arising from her August 3, 2018 arrest. She sued the City of New York, Police Officer Christopher Wintermute, Gordon’s Auto Sales, LLC, and John Doe police officers. The court had dismissed all claims against the City and Wintermute and stated that Gordon’s was the only remaining defendant.

Gordon’s did not answer the complaint or otherwise appear. The Clerk entered a certificate of default, and the Court later entered default judgment against Gordon’s. A default judgment is a judgment entered when a defendant fails to defend the case; the court then directed Medina to submit evidence concerning the amount of damages.

Damages Recommendation

Medina moved for an inquest, meaning a proceeding to determine damages after liability has been established by default. The Court referred that issue to Magistrate Judge Cave. Gordon’s did not respond to the motion or contact the court after being warned that Judge Cave could decide the damages issue using Medina’s written submissions alone.

On January 12, 2022, Judge Cave recommended total damages of $56,081.65, consisting of $38,880 in compensatory damages, $10,000 for emotional distress, $5,938.10 in lost wages, and $1,263.55 in costs. The recommendation also included post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The parties were given fourteen days to object, but neither party filed objections.

Ruling

Judge Valerie Caproni reviewed the recommendation for clear error because no objections were filed and found none. The Court adopted the recommendation in full and awarded Medina $56,081.65 against Gordon’s Auto Sales, LLC, plus post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961 from January 15, 2021—the date of the default judgment—until Gordon’s pays.

The Court stated that the failure to object precluded appellate review of the decision. It certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying filing fees for an appeal. The Clerk was directed to close the pending damages motion, terminate the case, and mail the order to Gordon’s and its registered agent.

Classification

This is a procedural order under the stated classification rules because the damages award followed Gordon’s nonappearance and default rather than an adversarial decision on the merits of the underlying claims.