Kelly Toys Holdings LLC. v. www.Axolotlsquishmallow.com
- Alvin Hellerstein
- 1:23-cv-01382
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kelly Toys v. www.Axolotlsquishmallow.com, Judge Hellerstein granted a defendant’s motion to set aside a clerk’s certificate of default.
Kelly Toys Holdings LLC and the defendant whose name is inconsistently given in the opinion as www.bigfootsquishmallow.com and www.bigsquishmallow.com.
What happened
Kelly Toys Holdings LLC filed a complaint, and the opinion says a defendant did not respond. The Clerk then issued a certificate of default. The defendant later filed an answer and moved to set aside the default; Kelly Toys did not oppose the motion.
The court applied the rule allowing a default to be set aside for good cause. It considered whether the failure to respond was intentional, whether setting aside the default would harm the opposing party, and whether the defendant had a potentially valid defense. The court also noted that cases are generally preferred to be decided on their merits.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein granted the motion and set aside the Clerk’s Certificates of Default. The opinion inconsistently refers to the defendant as www.bigfootsquishmallow.com and www.bigsquishmallow.com.
The detailed version
- Kelly Toys Holdings LLC. v. www.Axolotlsquishmallow.com · No. 1:23-cv-01382
- Alvin Hellerstein
- May 4, 2023
Background
Kelly Toys Holdings LLC filed its complaint on March 6, 2023. The opinion states that a defendant failed to respond or otherwise make a motion concerning the complaint. On April 24, 2023, the Clerk of Court issued a Certificate of Default. On May 3, 2023, the defendant filed an answer and moved to set aside the default. The opinion states that Kelly Toys did not oppose the motion.
The opinion identifies the moving defendant as “www.bigfootsquishmallow.com” in the background section, but the ruling later refers to “www.bigsquishmallow.com.” Neither name appears in the caption reproduced in the opinion. Because of this inconsistency, the identity of the affected defendant is unclear from the text.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c) permits a court to set aside an entry of default for “good cause.” The court stated that it must consider three factors: whether the default was intentional, whether setting it aside would harm the opposing party, and whether the defendant has a potentially valid defense. The court also emphasized the general preference for resolving cases on their merits rather than by default and stated that doubts should be resolved in favor of the party in default.
Ruling
The court granted the defendant’s motion to set aside the Clerk’s Certificates of Default. It did not state separate findings on each of the three good-cause factors. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein entered the order. The opinion’s date is not legible in the reproduced signature block; May 4, 2023 is the filing date supplied with the opinion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.