Michael Simon Interiors, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
- Katherine Failla
- 1:22-cv-08352
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Michael Simon Interiors v. Wells Fargo, Judge Failla set deadlines for pursuing default against Boarder Concepts and serving Christopher Balan.
The order affected Michael Simon Interiors, Inc. and Michael Simon, who were required to pursue default procedures against Boarder Concepts and complete service on Christopher Balan. It also addressed Boarder Concepts and Balan. Wells Fargo was affected by the previously reported settlement in principle and conditional discontinuance of the claims against it.
What happened
Michael Simon Interiors, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. initially included Wells Fargo, Christopher Balan, and Boarder Concepts, L.L.C. Wells Fargo and the plaintiffs reported a settlement in principle, and the court conditionally discontinued the claims against Wells Fargo.
Boarder Concepts had been served but had not responded by the deadline. Christopher Balan had not yet been served, even though the time allowed for service had expired.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla gave the plaintiffs until January 26, 2023, to seek a certificate of default against Boarder Concepts and three additional weeks to serve Balan or show good cause. The court warned that failing to meet these requirements could lead to dismissal of the claims against either defendant as described in the order.
The detailed version
- Michael Simon Interiors, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. · No. 1:22-cv-08352
- Katherine Failla
- Jan. 5, 2023
Background
The case was initially removed from New York State Supreme Court and included Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Christopher Balan, and Boarder Concepts, L.L.C. The plaintiffs and Wells Fargo reported that they had reached a settlement in principle. The court conditionally discontinued the claims against Wells Fargo, and this order addressed the remaining defendants.
Boarder Concepts
The plaintiffs served Boarder Concepts on September 21, 2022. Its deadline to answer or otherwise respond was October 12, 2022. More than two months after that deadline, Boarder Concepts had neither appeared nor responded to the complaint.
The court directed that, if the plaintiffs wished to seek a default judgment against Boarder Concepts, they had to move for a Certificate of Default by January 26, 2023. The court warned that failure to comply with the order could result in dismissal of the claims against Boarder Concepts for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to move the case forward.
Christopher Balan
The plaintiffs had not yet served Balan. The court stated that the normal 90-day service period had expired on December 29, 2022. Although the court had previously warned that failure to serve Balan could result in dismissal, it gave the plaintiffs three additional weeks to complete service.
The court ordered that, by January 26, 2023, the plaintiffs had to serve Balan or show good cause for not doing so. If they did neither, the court stated that it would dismiss the claims against Balan without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m).
Disposition
The court did not decide the underlying claims. It set deadlines concerning a possible default proceeding against Boarder Concepts and service on Balan, and it warned of the possible dismissals described above. Judge Katherine Polk Failla signed the order on January 5, 2023.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.