Opinion
20-CV-1733 (AMD) (SJB)
05-05-2021
US ALLIANCE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, Plaintiff, v. M/V KAMARA FAMILY a/k/a SOULSTICE, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
ANN M. DONNELLY, United States District Judge:
On April 8, 2020, the plaintiff brought this admiralty and maritime foreclosure action in rem against the M/V Kamara Family a.k.a. Soulstice, a 2013 Azimut Cruiser Flybridge 40 (the "Vessel") and in personam against the Vessel's owner, Ruslan Agarunov. (ECF No. 1.) On December 30, 2020, the plaintiff moved for default judgment and an order of sale. (ECF No. 18.) I referred the plaintiff's motion to Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara on January 4, 2021.
Judge Bulsara issued a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") on April 16, 2021, in which he recommends that the motion for default judgment be denied without prejudice to renewal. (ECF No. 19.) Judge Bulsara observed that the plaintiff's motion contained multiple procedural defects, including that the plaintiff did not "cite to a single case or statutory authority explaining Plaintiff's entitlement to the relief sought," "indicate in the Complaint or the motion whether any other person has an interest in the Vessel," or "demonstrate entitlement to much of the relief, including the damages and fees, sought." (Id. at 1-3.) In addition, the plaintiff's request for attorneys' fees was deficient. (Id. at 3.) Neither party has filed an objection to the R&R and the time to do so has passed.
A district court "may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). To accept those portions of the report and recommendation to which no timely objection has been made, "a district court need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record." Jarvis v. N. Am. Globex Fund L.P., 823 F. Supp. 2d 161, 163 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted).
I have reviewed Judge Bulsara's thorough and well-reasoned R&R and find no error. Accordingly, I adopt the R&R in its entirety. The plaintiff's motion for default judgment is denied without prejudice. If the plaintiff decides to renew its motion for default judgment, it must do so no later than June 4, 2021, in accordance with this Court's local rules as outlined in Judge Bulsara's R&R.
SO ORDERED.
s/Ann M. Donnelly
ANN M. DONNELLY
United States District Judge Dated: Brooklyn, New York
May 5, 2021