Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:22-cv-10583
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc., Judge Furman granted default judgment against the company on liability only while allowing it to contest damages.
Sandra Sanon, Defendant Malachi, and Kidz Discovery Inc.; the default judgment ruling directly affects Kidz Discovery Inc.’s liability while leaving damages to a later proceeding.
What happened
In Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc., Sandra Sanon sued Kidz Discovery Inc. and others, and the court addressed how the case would proceed. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
The court said Defendant Malachi’s existing answer would remain effective for Malachi. Malachi was allowed, but not required, to file an amended answer by October 16, 2023. The court also noted that Kidz Discovery Inc. had repeatedly failed to appear through a licensed lawyer, as federal law requires for corporations.
Judge Furman granted Sanon’s motion for default judgment against Kidz Discovery Inc. as unopposed, but only as to liability; the company may still appear through a licensed lawyer and contest the amount of damages. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion from the docket.
The detailed version
- Sanon v. Kidz Discovery Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-10583
- Jesse Furman
- Sept. 15, 2023
What the order addressed
The order followed a telephone conference and addressed three matters: assistance available to Sanon, Defendant Malachi’s answer, and Sanon’s motion for default judgment against Kidz Discovery Inc.
Malachi’s answer
The court concluded that Malachi’s Answer, docket entry 21, should remain effective on Malachi’s own behalf. The court had previously treated that answer as filed on her behalf. The court granted Malachi leave to file an amended answer by October 16, 2023, but did not require her to do so. If she filed nothing by that deadline, the case would proceed with docket entry 21 as the operative answer.
Default judgment against Kidz Discovery Inc.
Sanon filed a motion for default judgment against Kidz Discovery Inc. on June 6, 2023. The court stated that Kidz Discovery Inc. had been repeatedly warned that a corporation may appear in federal court only through a licensed lawyer. After extensions and multiple opportunities to obtain representation, the company remained unrepresented.
The court therefore granted Sanon’s motion as unopposed, but limited the ruling to liability. The company may still appear through a lawyer admitted to practice in the Southern District of New York and contest the amount of damages in a later proceeding, or make other motions it considers proper. The clerk was directed to terminate docket entry 42. The order’s text contains an apparent transcription or scanning error in the phrase limiting the ruling, rendered as “liability on/y”; this summary reads that phrase as “liability only” based on the surrounding text.
Other direction
The court encouraged Sanon to use the district’s Pro Se Law Clinic, which assists unrepresented parties in civil cases for free and is distinct from the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit.
Disposition
The motion for default judgment was granted as unopposed as to liability only. The order did not decide the amount of damages.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.