Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A. v. Lan Cargo S.A.
- Andrew Carter
- 1:20-cv-04642
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A. v. Lan Cargo S.A., Judge Carter granted default judgment on liability and sent damages to a magistrate judge for determination.
Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A. obtained a ruling establishing Lan Cargo S.A.’s liability by default. The amount of damages remained to be determined in an inquest before Magistrate Judge James L. Cott.
What happened
Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A. filed this case against Lan Cargo S.A. on June 17, 2020. Lan Cargo was served with the summons and complaint but did not answer or otherwise respond by the deadline.
A clerk entered Lan Cargo’s default, and Chubb later asked for default judgment. Lan Cargo did not respond to that motion either. The court granted the motion as to liability, but the opinion does not determine the amount of damages.
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. referred the case to Magistrate Judge James L. Cott for an inquest to determine damages. The court also ordered Chubb to serve the order on Lan Cargo and file proof of service by March 22, 2022.
The detailed version
- Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A. v. Lan Cargo S.A. · No. 1:20-cv-04642
- Andrew Carter
- Mar. 18, 2022
Background
Chubb Seguros Ecuador S.A., identified in the caption as the subrogor of Earthfrucitifera CIA. LTDA, filed the complaint on June 17, 2020. Lan Cargo S.A. was served with the summons and complaint on October 8, 2020, and its deadline to answer was October 29, 2020. Lan Cargo did not answer or otherwise respond.
A clerk’s certificate of default issued on December 23, 2020. Chubb moved for default judgment on May 20, 2021, and served the motion on Lan Cargo that day. The court ordered Lan Cargo to respond by July 23, 2021, but it did not respond.
Ruling
The court granted Chubb’s motion for default judgment as to liability. A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party fails to respond or participate as required; here, the ruling established liability but did not determine damages.
The court referred the case to Magistrate Judge James L. Cott for an inquest, meaning a proceeding to determine the amount of damages. The court noted that any default judgment cannot award more damages than the complaint demanded. It directed Chubb to serve the order on Lan Cargo and file proof of service by March 22, 2022. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 15.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.