Mayor v. Sankareh
- Paul Gardephe
- 1:21-cv-10831
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Mayor v. Sankareh, Judge Gardephe dismissed Mayor’s claims against Atlantic Cooling for lack of personal jurisdiction and set a deadline for a default-judgment motion against Sankareh.
The ruling ended Mayor’s claims against Atlantic Cooling in this federal case because the court lacked personal jurisdiction over that defendant. Sankareh had not appeared, and the order set a deadline for a possible default-judgment motion against him while warning that the claims against him would be dismissed for failure to prosecute if no motion was filed.
What happened
In Mayor v. Sankareh, Tomas Mayor sued Mahamadou S. Sankareh and Atlantic Cooling Technologies & Services, LLC, alleging negligence and negligent entrustment after a motor vehicle accident in New Jersey. Atlantic Cooling removed the case to federal court and later asked to dismiss the claims against it for lack of personal jurisdiction.
A magistrate judge recommended granting Atlantic Cooling’s motion. No party objected, even though the recommendation warned that failing to object would generally waive further review. The court therefore reviewed the recommendation only for a clear error in the record.
Judge Paul G. Gardephe adopted the recommendation in full and dismissed Mayor’s claims against Atlantic Cooling for lack of personal jurisdiction. Sankareh had been served but had not responded or appeared; the court set March 10, 2023, as the deadline for a motion seeking a default judgment against him and stated that the claims against him would be dismissed for failure to prosecute if no such motion was filed.
The detailed version
- Mayor v. Sankareh · No. 1:21-cv-10831
- Paul Gardephe
- Feb. 24, 2023
Background
Tomas Mayor brought claims for negligence and negligent entrustment against Mahamadou S. Sankareh and Atlantic Cooling Technologies & Services, LLC. The claims arose from a motor vehicle accident in New Jersey. Mayor originally filed the complaint in New York state court on September 24, 2021. Atlantic Cooling removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 17, 2021.
Atlantic Cooling moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction on May 26, 2022. Personal jurisdiction is the court’s authority over a particular defendant. The district court referred that motion to Magistrate Judge Willis for a report and recommendation. Sankareh was served on November 30, 2021, but did not respond to the complaint or otherwise appear.
Report and Recommendation
On February 7, 2023, Magistrate Judge Willis recommended granting Atlantic Cooling’s motion to dismiss. The report warned the parties that they had 14 days to file written objections and that failing to object would waive objections and generally prevent appellate review.
No party filed objections. The district court explained that, when no timely objection is filed after clear notice of the consequences, the district judge generally reviews the recommendation for clear error on the face of the record rather than conducting a full new review.
Ruling
The court reviewed the eleven-page recommendation and found it thorough, well-reasoned, and free of clear error. It adopted the recommendation in its entirety and dismissed Mayor’s claims against Atlantic Cooling for lack of personal jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2). The clerk was directed to terminate Atlantic Cooling as a defendant and terminate Atlantic Cooling’s motion.
The order did not dismiss the claims against Sankareh. Because Sankareh had not appeared, the court stated that any motion for a default judgment against him had to be filed by March 10, 2023. If no such motion was filed, the court stated that Mayor’s claims against Sankareh would be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.