Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:22-cv-10583
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc., Judge Furman ruled that Malachi’s answer did not represent the company, which remained in default.
The order affects Sandra Sanon, Deanna Malachi, and Kidz Discovery Inc. It leaves Kidz Discovery Inc. in default, preserves the May 12, 2023 deadline for Sanon to seek default judgment against the company, and requires Sanon to serve the order on Ms. Malachi.
What happened
In Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc., Kidz Discovery Inc. was served with the complaint but did not timely answer or otherwise respond. The court had set a deadline for Sandra Sanon to seek a default judgment.
Deanna Malachi later filed a notice of appearance without a lawyer and submitted an answer for herself and supposedly for Kidz Discovery Inc. The opinion states that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a lawyer.
Judge Furman treated the answer as filed only for Ms. Malachi, not for Kidz Discovery Inc. The company therefore remained in default, and the May 12, 2023 deadline for Sanon to seek default judgment remained in place. The court also ordered Sanon to serve the order on Ms. Malachi and file proof of service.
The detailed version
- Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-10583
- Jesse Furman
- Mar. 15, 2023
Background
Sandra Sanon filed the case individually and on behalf of other similarly situated persons. The opinion states that Kidz Discovery Inc. was served on January 23, 2023, and that Sanon filed proof of service on February 6, 2023. Kidz Discovery Inc. did not meet the deadline to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. The court therefore set a schedule for Sanon to file a motion for default judgment and later extended that deadline to May 12, 2023.
The Answer Filed by Deanna Malachi
On March 14, 2023, Deanna Malachi filed a notice of appearance without a lawyer. She also filed an answer for herself and purportedly for Kidz Discovery Inc. The court explained that a corporate entity may appear in federal court only through counsel. The opinion cites Lattanzio v. COMTA, 481 F.3d 137, 140 (2d Cir. 2007), for that rule.
Court’s Action
The court deemed the answer filed by Ms. Malachi to be filed only on her behalf, and not on behalf of Kidz Discovery Inc. As a result, the court stated that Kidz Discovery Inc. remained in default, and the May 12, 2023 deadline for Sanon to file a default-judgment motion remained effective as to the company. The court stated that, if counsel for Kidz Discovery Inc. entered an appearance before that date, counsel could confer with Sanon and seek a retroactive extension of the deadline to answer.
The court also ordered Sanon to serve a copy of the order on Ms. Malachi by March 17, 2023, and to file proof of service on the docket by March 20, 2023. This order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.