Doe v. City of New York
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-06393
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In John Doe v. City of New York, Judge Engelmayer granted default judgment for the City and NYCHH against August PT.
The ruling affected the City of New York and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which obtained default judgment against third-party defendant August Physical Therapy, P.C. August PT was affected by the judgment after failing to appear or defend against the third-party claims.
What happened
John Doe sued the City of New York and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation over alleged civil-rights violations arising from an alleged sexual assault by a physical therapist at Rikers Island. The City and NYCHH later brought third-party claims against August Physical Therapy, P.C., which had employed the therapist.
August PT did not appear or defend against those third-party claims. The City and NYCHH asked for default judgment, and a magistrate judge recommended granting that request.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer reviewed the recommendation for clear error because no party objected, adopted it in full, and granted the City and NYCHH’s motion for default judgment against August PT.
The detailed version
- Doe v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-06393
- Paul Engelmayer
- Mar. 3, 2023
Background
John Doe brought claims against the City of New York and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation based on alleged civil-rights and constitutional violations arising from an alleged sexual assault by a physical therapist working at Rikers Island. The City and NYCHH later brought third-party claims against August Physical Therapy, P.C. August PT was the private entity that had contracted with the defendants and employed the physical therapist. The City and NYCHH sought contractual defense and indemnification from August PT.
August PT did not appear or otherwise defend against the third-party claims. The City and NYCHH moved for default judgment. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the motion be granted.
Court’s Review
Because no party objected to the Report and Recommendation, the court reviewed it for clear error. That standard asks whether the report contains an obvious error on the face of the record. The court found no such error and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety.
The opinion also states that the parties’ failure to object waived objections and prevented appellate review, consistent with the warning in the Report and Recommendation.
Ruling
The court granted the City and NYCHH’s motion for default judgment against August PT. The clerk was directed to terminate the pending motion. The case remained under Judge Figueredo’s pretrial supervision.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.