Nielsen v. J.C. Penny Company, Inc.
- James Cott
- 1:23-cv-05619
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Nielsen v. J.C. Penny, Judge Cott ordered the absent defendant to respond to Nielsen’s motions and required Nielsen to notify its counsel.
Junious Nielsen and J.C. Penny Company, Inc.; the order also directed Nielsen to contact J.C. Penny Company, Inc.’s identified attorneys.
What happened
In Nielsen v. J.C. Penny Company, Inc., Junious Nielsen, who is representing himself, asked for a default judgment and summary judgment because J.C. Penny Company, Inc. had not appeared in the case.
The court found questions about whether Nielsen properly served the company. To help ensure the company received notice, the court ordered Nielsen to contact the company’s attorneys in another case and confirm those communications by March 29, 2024.
The court ordered J.C. Penny Company, Inc. to respond to Nielsen’s motions by April 17, 2024. Judge James L. Cott did not decide those motions in this order.
The detailed version
- Nielsen v. J.C. Penny Company, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-05619
- James Cott
- Mar. 20, 2024
Background
Junious Nielsen, who is proceeding without a lawyer, filed motions for a default judgment and summary judgment. A default judgment is a judgment based on a party’s failure to participate in the case. J.C. Penny Company, Inc. had not appeared in the action as of the date of the order.
Notice and Service
The court stated that questions remained about whether Nielsen had properly served J.C. Penny Company, Inc. The court identified attorneys representing the company in another case in the Southern District of New York. The order noted that the company was named Penney OpCo, LLC in that other case.
The court ordered Nielsen to contact those attorneys by telephone or email, inform them about this lawsuit, and provide the court with confirmation by March 29, 2024. The court explained that it was taking this step to help ensure that J.C. Penny Company, Inc. had notice of the lawsuit. It also cited the preference for resolving disputes on their merits and the general disfavor of default judgments.
Ruling
The court ordered J.C. Penny Company, Inc. to respond to Nielsen’s motions by April 17, 2024. The order did not grant or deny the motions for default judgment or summary judgment and did not decide the merits of Nielsen’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.