Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Kirvens LLC
- Carter
- 1:21-cv-10140
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Joe Hand Promotions v. Kirvens, Judge Carter granted defendants’ motion, set aside defaults, and denied default judgment.
The ruling removed the default status of Kirvens LLC, Marisa Joy Davis-Kaimanovich, and Steven Evans Weinles, and denied Joe Hand Promotions, Inc.’s request for default judgment. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. sued Kirvens LLC, Marisa Joy Davis-Kaimanovich, and Steven Evans Weinles. The defendants did not initially respond, so the Clerk entered defaults against them, and Joe Hand Promotions later sought default judgment.
After defense counsel appeared, the defendants filed an answer and asked the court to remove the defaults. Joe Hand Promotions did not oppose that request or the defendants’ request for more time to answer.
Judge Carter granted the defendants’ motion, set aside the Clerk’s Certificates of Default, and denied Joe Hand Promotions’ motion for default judgment. The court directed the parties to submit a joint status report, although the stated deadline—March 3, 2022—predates the order.
The detailed version
- Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Kirvens LLC · No. 1:21-cv-10140
- Carter
- Feb. 17, 2023
Background
Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. filed the complaint on November 30, 2021, against Kirvens LLC doing business as Kirvens, Marisa Joy Davis-Kaimanovich, and Steven Evans Weinles. The defendants did not respond to the complaint or file a motion. On March 17, 2022, the Clerk of Court issued Certificates of Default against all three defendants.
The court later ordered Joe Hand Promotions to file motions for default judgment. Joe Hand Promotions filed that motion on May 16,
- The defendants’ response was due June 13,
- On that date, defense counsel appeared and requested more time to file an answer. The court granted an extension to June 27,
- The defendants then filed an answer and moved to set aside the Certificates of Default. Joe Hand Promotions did not oppose either the extension request or the motion to set aside default.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c) allows a court to set aside an entry of default for “good cause.” The court considered whether the default was willful, whether removing it would prejudice Joe Hand Promotions, and whether the defendants presented a potentially valid defense. The court also noted the preference for deciding cases on their merits rather than by default judgment.
Ruling
The court granted the defendants’ motion to set aside the Clerk’s Certificates of Default. It also denied Joe Hand Promotions’ motion for default judgment because the defendants had timely responded to that motion and Joe Hand Promotions had not opposed the request to remove the defaults. The court set aside the Certificates of Default as to Steven Evans Weinles, Kirvens LLC, and Marisa Joy Davis-Kaimanovich.
The court ordered the parties to provide a joint status report on or before March 3, 2022, and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the open motions at ECF Nos. 25 and 33. The opinion does not explain the apparent inconsistency between that deadline and the order’s February 17, 2023 date.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.