Legal Recovery Associates LLC v. Brenes Law Group, P.C.
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:22-cv-01778
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Legal Recovery Associates v. Brenes Law Group, Judge Ramos granted in part LRA’s motion, dismissing part of a counterclaim and striking two defenses.
The ruling affects Legal Recovery Associates LLC’s challenge to the defendants’ pleadings. It dismissed the first counterclaim only insofar as Troy A. Brenes asserted it and struck the eighth and ninth affirmative defenses entirely.
What happened
Legal Recovery Associates LLC sued Brenes Law Group, P.C., and Troy A. Brenes. LRA later asked the court to dismiss the defendants’ first counterclaim and strike their affirmative defenses.
Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses recommended granting the motion in part. She recommended dismissing the first counterclaim only to the extent Troy A. Brenes asserted it, and striking the eighth and ninth affirmative defenses entirely. No party objected to the recommendation.
Judge Ramos found no error and adopted the recommendation. He granted LRA’s motion to dismiss the first counterclaim and strike Brenes’ affirmative defenses in part, as described in the recommendation, and terminated the motion.
The detailed version
- Legal Recovery Associates LLC v. Brenes Law Group, P.C. · No. 1:22-cv-01778
- Edgardo Ramos
- Feb. 28, 2023
Background
Legal Recovery Associates LLC (LRA) filed the action in state court on January 28, 2022. Brenes Law Group, P.C., and Troy A. Brenes removed it to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The court referred the case to Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses.
LRA moved to dismiss the defendants’ first counterclaim and to strike their affirmative defenses. A counterclaim is a claim brought by a defendant against the plaintiff; an affirmative defense is a stated reason why a claim should not succeed.
Magistrate Judge’s Recommendation
On February 13, 2023, Magistrate Judge Moses issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that LRA’s motion be granted in part. She recommended dismissing the first counterclaim insofar as it was asserted by Troy A. Brenes and striking the eighth and ninth affirmative defenses entirely.
The parties had 14 days to file written objections, but no party objected. The district court could adopt the unobjected-to recommendations unless it found clear error in the record.
Ruling
Judge Ramos reviewed the Report and Recommendation and found no error, clear or otherwise. The court adopted Magistrate Judge Moses’ recommendations.
The court granted in part LRA’s motion to dismiss the first counterclaim and strike Brenes’ affirmative defenses, as set out in the Report and Recommendation. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion. The opinion does not state any further disposition of the first counterclaim or the other affirmative defenses.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.