De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc. v. Bookit Operating LLC
- James Oetken
- 1:21-cv-02519
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
De Lage Landen v. Bookit, Judge Oetken granted default judgment for $258,070.10 on breached equipment-and-software leases.
De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc. received a $258,070.10 judgment against Bookit Operating LLC after the court granted default judgment.
What happened
De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc. v. Bookit Operating LLC concerned three leases for equipment and software. De Lage Landen alleged that Bookit breached the leases by stopping its payments.
Bookit stopped paying after making three payments on one lease and two payments on each of the other two leases. After Bookit’s attorney withdrew, Bookit did not retain new counsel, and De Lage Landen asked the court to enter a judgment because Bookit was no longer defending the case.
Judge James Oetken granted the default-judgment motion. He awarded De Lage Landen $258,070.10 for unpaid principal, interest, fees, and action costs, directed the Clerk to enter judgment, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc. v. Bookit Operating LLC · No. 1:21-cv-02519
- James Oetken
- Nov. 15, 2022
Background
De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc. (DLL) sued Bookit Operating LLC for allegedly breaching three contracts involving the lease of equipment and software. One lease was executed in September 2017, and two were executed in April 2019. The first lease required five annual payments, while each of the other two required three annual payments.
Bookit made only the first three payments on the first lease and defaulted on November 1, 2020. Bookit also made only two payments on each of the other two leases. After the default, DLL exercised a contractual remedy and demanded the remaining payments under all three leases, along with 18% default interest and other fees.
DLL filed the case on March 24, 2021. Bookit answered on July 9, 2021, and waived defenses based on service, jurisdiction, and venue. In January 2022, Bookit’s attorney asked to withdraw. The court allowed the withdrawal and warned Bookit that DLL could seek a default judgment if Bookit did not retain new counsel within 30 days. Bookit did not obtain new counsel. Bookit also filed an assignment for the benefit of creditors in a different forum, but that filing did not pause this case.
Default Judgment
A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party fails to plead or otherwise defend. The court explained that a default requires the court to accept the opposing party’s well-pleaded factual allegations as true, but the court must still determine whether those allegations establish legal liability.
Court’s Analysis
The court accepted DLL’s pleaded facts as true. DLL submitted the three leases and the demand letter sent to Bookit after the default. Bookit did not dispute the truth of those documents and stated that they spoke for themselves. The court concluded that the documents, DLL’s allegations, and Bookit’s default established Bookit’s liability as a matter of law.
Disposition
The court granted DLL’s motion for default judgment. It awarded DLL $258,070.10 against Bookit, consisting of $197,688.93 in unpaid principal, $50,410.67 in contract default interest, $9,568.50 in late charges, and $402.00 in action costs. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment, close the motion and case, and DLL was directed to serve Bookit with the order.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.