Adewale v. Akintoye
- John Cronan
- 1:21-cv-09485
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Adewale v. Akintoye, Judge Cronan adjourned the default-judgment hearing and ordered briefing on eight additional claims.
Plaintiff Tejusho Olusina Adewale and the defendants, including Olubunmi Adeola Akintoye; the order imposed briefing and service requirements on Adewale and postponed the hearing concerning his default-judgment motion.
What happened
In Adewale v. Akintoye, Plaintiff Tejusho Olusina Adewale sought a default judgment on nine claims against the defendants. The court moved the scheduled August 4, 2022 hearing to August 16, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.
The court ordered Adewale to file supplemental briefing by August 1 if he continued seeking liability on claims other than breach of contract. The briefing had to address conversion, conspiracy to commit conversion, aiding and abetting conversion, unjust enrichment, constructive trust, fraud, violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and conspiracy to violate that Act.
Judge John P. Cronan also ordered Adewale to serve the supplemental briefing and the order on the defendants by overnight courier and file proof of service. The order did not decide whether the defendants were liable or whether default judgment should be entered.
The detailed version
- Adewale v. Akintoye · No. 1:21-cv-09485
- John Cronan
- July 21, 2022
Background
Plaintiff Tejusho Olusina Adewale moved for default judgment against Defendants Olubunmi Adeola Akintoye and the other defendants. The complaint alleged nine causes of action, and Adewale told the court that he intended to seek default judgment on all nine claims. A hearing on the motion was scheduled for August 4, 2022.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that, after a defendant has been formally found in default, the court accepts the plaintiff’s factual allegations as true and draws reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor. A default, however, does not admit legal conclusions. The court must still decide whether the allegations provide a legally sound basis for liability.
Orders
The court adjourned the August 4 default-judgment hearing to August 16, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. If Adewale continued seeking a finding of liability on claims other than breach of contract, the court ordered him to submit supplemental briefing by August 1, 2022, addressing whether the complaint plausibly alleged:
- conversion; - conspiracy to commit conversion; - aiding and abetting conversion; - unjust enrichment; - constructive trust; - fraud; - violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 and following; and - conspiracy to violate that Act.
Adewale was ordered to serve the supplemental briefing on the defendants by overnight courier and file proof of service by August 3, 2022. He was also ordered to serve the defendants with a copy of the order by July 25, 2022, and file proof of that service. The opinion did not decide liability, enter default judgment, or rule on the legal sufficiency of any claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.