King Spider LLC v. Guangzhou Maiyuan Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd.

Background

On April 4, 2024, the Clerk of Court issued a Certificate of Default against Guangzhou Maiyuan Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. (GMEC Co.) and other defendants. On April 19, GMEC Co. appeared and filed a motion asking the court to set aside the default. On April 30, GMEC Co. filed an affirmation stating that King Spider consented to the requested relief.

Ruling on the Default

The court granted GMEC Co.’s motion. Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c), the court set aside the Clerk’s Certificate of Default for good cause shown. The order does not state that the court decided the merits of King Spider’s claims or GMEC Co.’s defenses.

Case-Management Orders

After a conference on May 1, 2024, the court directed counsel for all parties to appear for an initial pretrial conference on July 10, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, by Microsoft Teams. The parties were ordered to file a joint letter and a proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order by July 2, 2024.

The joint letter must address the nature of the action and principal defenses, the major legal and factual issues, jurisdiction and venue, existing deadlines, outstanding motions, completed and needed discovery, the status of settlement discussions, possible alternative dispute-resolution methods, and other information useful to moving the case toward settlement or trial. Counsel were also directed to follow the court’s Individual Practices, register as electronic filing users, notify parties or counsel who had not appeared, and comply with the court’s requirements for requests to extend deadlines or adjourn the conference.

Disposition

Judge Dale E. Ho granted the motion to set aside the default and directed the Clerk of Court to close the motion at ECF No. 49. The order continued the case toward an initial pretrial conference rather than resolving the underlying dispute.