Gonzalez v. H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc.
- Vyskocil
- 1:20-cv-04271
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gonzalez v. H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc., Judge Vyskocil ordered plaintiffs to seek default certificates and warned the case could be dismissed.
The plaintiffs were required to obtain certificates of default by March 16, 2022 and then promptly seek default judgment. The defendants had not responded, and the court warned that the action could be dismissed if the plaintiffs did not take the required steps.
What happened
In Gonzalez v. H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc., Luis Gonzalez and Julio Sanchez Espinoza sued H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc., Shaheen Khan, and Maha Khondoker. The defendants did not respond to the amended complaint, and the plaintiffs had not pursued the case.
The court had earlier allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint and struck earlier certificates of default. In this order, the court directed the plaintiffs to obtain new certificates showing that the defendants had failed to respond.
Judge Vyskocil ordered the plaintiffs to obtain those certificates by March 16, 2022, and then promptly seek a judgment based on the defendants’ nonappearance. The court warned that failing to do so may result in dismissal for failure to prosecute, but it did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Gonzalez v. H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-04271
- Vyskocil
- Mar. 2, 2022
Background
Luis Gonzalez and Julio Sanchez Espinoza filed this action against H.K. Second Ave Restaurant Inc., Shaheen Khan, and Maha Khondoker on June 4, 2020. The plaintiffs obtained certificates of default from the Clerk of Court and moved for default judgment, which is a request for judgment because a defendant did not respond or otherwise defend.
The plaintiffs later asked to amend their complaint to add information about the employer-employee relationship in the case. The court granted that request, struck the earlier certificates of default, and directed the plaintiffs to file and serve the amended complaint. The amended complaint was filed on November 15, 2021. The docket later showed service on all three defendants, with response deadlines of December 9 or December 10, 2021. No defendant filed a response.
Court’s Order
The court stated that the plaintiffs had not prosecuted the case after serving the amended complaint. It ordered them to obtain certificates of default from the Clerk by March 16, 2022. After obtaining those certificates, the plaintiffs were required to promptly move for default judgment under the court’s individual rules and practices.
The court warned that failure to obtain the certificates or move for default judgment may result in dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The order did not decide whether the plaintiffs’ claims were valid, nor did it award damages or enter default judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.