Doe v. City of New York
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-06393
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Doe v. City of New York, Magistrate Judge Figueredo ordered submissions on damages before deciding the defendants’ default-judgment request against August Physical Therapy.
The City of New York and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation must prepare the required damages submissions. August Physical Therapy, P.C. must respond through counsel if it responds or requests a hearing. The order does not determine John Doe’s claims or enter a default judgment.
What happened
Doe v. City of New York concerns a request by the City of New York and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation for a default judgment against their third-party defendant, August Physical Therapy, P.C. The order does not enter the requested judgment or decide the damages amount.
The defendants must submit proposed findings about liability-related damages by November 7, 2022. Their submission must explain the damages calculation and include sworn supporting evidence. If they seek attorneys’ fees or costs, they must also provide time records, information supporting the requested hourly rates, and invoices or other documentation.
Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo ordered August Physical Therapy to respond by December 7, 2022, through a lawyer. If it does not respond, the court may issue a report and recommendation on liability and damages based only on the defendants’ written submission, and it will hold a damages hearing only if August requests one in writing by that date.
The detailed version
- Doe v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-06393
- Paul Engelmayer
- Oct. 4, 2022
Background
The case was brought by John Doe against the City of New York and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Those defendants also asserted claims against August Physical Therapy, P.C. and became third-party plaintiffs. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer referred the pending motion for default judgment to Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo.
Order
The order did not grant or deny the motion for default judgment. Instead, it required the City and the Health and Hospitals Corporation to serve and file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law about the damages they sought from August Physical Therapy after its alleged default.
The proposed findings had to connect each proposed damages amount to the legal claim supporting liability, explain how the amount was calculated, and include a sworn affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury. Any supporting documentary evidence had to be attached and explained.
If the defendants sought attorneys’ fees or litigation costs, their submission also had to include their attorneys’ contemporaneous time records, address whether the attorneys’ and support staff’s hourly rates were reasonable, and provide invoices or other documentation supporting the claimed costs.
Response and possible next step
August Physical Therapy was permitted to respond by December 7, 2022. Because it is a corporation, the court cautioned that it could not appear without an attorney; any response or request for a damages hearing had to be made through counsel.
If August Physical Therapy failed to respond by the deadline, the court stated that it would proceed to issue a report and recommendation addressing liability for entry of a default judgment and damages based only on the defendants’ written submission. The court also stated that it would not hold a damages hearing unless August requested one in writing by December 7, 2022. The order was signed by Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.