Lola Hilton Von Horn v. Mary Connors

• Court: District Court, E.D. New York
• Decided: October 30, 2025
• Docket: 1:22-cv-04721
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------------------- X : LOLA HILTON VON HORN, : Plaintiff, : ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION – against – : 22-CV-4721 (AMD) (JAM) : MARY CONNORS, : Defendant. : --------------------------------------------------------------- X

A NN M. DONNELLY, United States District Judge:

This action is one of two related actions involving the plaintiff, Lola Hilton Von Horn.

On December 3, 2018, Mikael Gianfranco Rob sued Von Horn for breach of contract in the

Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens Cou nty, seeking to recover the balance of an unpaid loan. See Rob v. Von Horn, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens,

Index No. 718410/2018. On January 28, 2019, Von Horn removed the case to the United States

District Court for the Southern District of New York, and on July 1, 2019, the case was transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. See Rob v. Von Horn, No. 19-CV-3822 (the “Rob Action”), ECF. No. 12. On August 10, 2022, Von Horn brought this action (the “Von Horn Action”) against Rob’s wife, Mary Connors, alleging that Connors conspired with Rob to defraud her. (ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 6, 16.) On December 9, 2022, the Court consolidated the Rob Action and the Von Horn Action. (ECF Order dated Dec. 9, 2022.) On June 6, 2023, the parties participated in mediation, which was unsuccessful. (ECF Order dated June 6, 2023.) Connors filed a motion to dismiss on August 21, 2023 (ECF No. 20), which the Court granted in part and denied in part on March 28, 2024 (ECF No. 40). The Court also granted the plaintiff’s request to file an amended complaint. (Id.) After the close of discovery on April 19, 2024, Connors requested extensions of her deadline to request a pre-motion conference in anticipation of a motion for summary judgment; the Court granted the requests and set a briefing schedule. (ECF Nos. 44, 46; ECF Order dated

Apr. 26, 2024, ECF Order dated Aug. 28, 2024.) On October 30, 2024, Von Horn’s counsel filed an emergency request to be relieved as her attorney because of “deterioration of [the] working relationship with [his] client.” (ECF No. 47 at 1.) On December 13, 2024, Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo held a telephonic conference regarding the motion to withdraw, which Van Horn was ordered to attend. (ECF Order dated Dec. 4, 2024.) Von Horn did not attend the conference,1 and Judge Marutollo ordered her to show cause by December 20, 2024 with an explanation for her not attending. (ECF Minute Entry dated Dec. 13, 2024.) Judge Marutollo warned her that failure to respond or comply with the Court’s orders could result in sanctions, including dismissal of the Von Horn Action and entry of a default judgment in the Rob Action. (Id.) On December 26, 2024, Judge

Marutollo granted Von Horn’s counsel’s motion to withdraw and extended Von Horn’s deadline to show cause to January 8, 2025. (ECF Order dated Dec. 26, 2024.) Judge Marutollo reminded Von Horn that her failure to respond could result in dismissal or default judgment. (Id.) Von Horn did not respond to the Court’s order, and Judge Marutollo sua sponte extended her deadline to do so until January 31, 2025, with another reminder of the possible consequences of failing to respond. (ECF Order dated Jan. 9, 2025.)

1 On the day of the conference, Van Horn’s counsel filed a letter stating that Von Horn’s niece emailed him requesting an adjournment to December 20, 2024 (ECF No. 55), but Judge Marutollo denied the request (ECF Order dated Dec. 13, 2024). Von Horn did not show cause or otherwise respond to the Court’s orders, and on February 11, 2025, Judge Marutollo instructed Connors to file a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute the Von Horn Action and instructed Rob to seek a certificate of default in the Rob Action. (ECF Order dated Feb. 11, 2025.)2 On March 18, 2025, Von Horn emailed Judge Marutollo’s

chambers to explain her absence from the December 13, 2024 status conference and failure to respond to the Court’s orders. (ECF No. 70 at 8.) However, she did not file anything on the docket or communicate further with the Court. On April 2, 2025, Connors filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for Von Horn’s failure to prosecute. (ECF No. 64.) Von Horn did not respond to the motion. On April 14, 2025, the Court referred the motion to Judge Marutollo (ECF Order dated Apr. 14, 2025), and on September 20, 2025, Judge Marutollo issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the Court grant the motion. (ECF No. 29.) No party has filed an objection to the report and recommendation and the time for doing so has passed. A district court reviewing a report and recommendation “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)(C). To accept a 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.” VOX Amplification Ltd. v. Meussdorffer, 50 F. Supp. 3d 355, 369 (E.D.N.Y. 2014) (citation omitted). The Court has carefully reviewed Judge Marutollo’s thorough and well- reasoned report and recommendation for clear error and finds none. Accordingly, the Court adopts the report and recommendation in its entirety. This action is dismissed without prejudice

2 Rob filed a motion for default judgment against Von Horn in the Rob Action (see Rob Action, ECF No. 96), which the Court will address in a separate opinion. pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to enter judgment and close this action.

SO ORDERED. s/Ann M. Donnelly ___________________________ ANN M. DONNELLY United States District Judge

Dated: Brooklyn, New York October 29, 2025