Hernandez v. Lake Ave Pizza LLC
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:21-cv-06753
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Hernandez v. Lake Ave Pizza, Judge Cave ordered submissions about damages, fees, and costs after defendants’ default.
Sergio Hernandez Najera, Lake Ave Pizza LLC, and Raymond Delfino. Hernandez had to submit evidence and serve the order; the defendants could respond or request an in-court hearing.
What happened
In Sergio Hernandez Najera v. Lake Ave Pizza LLC, the court was preparing to determine the damages owed to the plaintiff after defendants’ default. The order concerns damages, not the underlying claims.
The court required Hernandez to submit proposed factual findings and legal conclusions about damages, supported by affidavits or other evidence, by October 28, 2022. He also had to document requested attorneys’ fees and costs. The defendants could respond by November 11, 2022.
Judge Sarah L. Cave ordered Hernandez to serve the order on the defendants and file proof of service by October 4, 2022. She stated that, if the defendants did not respond or request an in-court hearing, she intended to recommend damages based only on Hernandez’s written submissions.
The detailed version
- Hernandez v. Lake Ave Pizza LLC · No. 1:21-cv-06753
- Lorna Schofield
- Sept. 30, 2022
Background
The matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave to conduct an inquest, meaning a proceeding to determine damages, and to prepare a report and recommendation about those damages. The defendants are Lake Ave Pizza LLC, doing business as Lake Avenue Pizza, and Raymond Delfino. The order refers to a default judgment, but it does not state the details of the default or decide the amount of damages.
Required submissions
The order directed Plaintiff Sergio Hernandez Najera to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law about damages by Friday, October 28, 2022. He had to support factual assertions with affidavits or other evidence. Any request for attorneys’ fees and costs also had to be recorded in the forms provided and supported by evidence.
The defendants could submit a response by Friday, November 11, 2022. The order states that if the defendants failed to respond or failed to contact Judge Cave by April 7, 2022, to request an in-court hearing, she intended to issue a report and recommendation about damages based only on the plaintiff’s written submissions, without an in-court hearing. The order also directed Hernandez to serve it on the defendants and file proof of service by Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
Ruling and effect
Judge Cave ordered the parties to follow these submission and service deadlines. This order did not award a specific amount of damages, attorneys’ fees, or costs, and it did not enter the final report and recommendation. The text contains an apparent date inconsistency because it refers to contacting chambers by April 7, 2022, even though the order is dated September 30, 2022.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.