Reiseck v. Universal Communications of Miami, Inc.

141 F. Supp. 3d 1295, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147090, 2015 WL 6561689
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 18, 2015
DocketCASE NO. 15-20935-MC-ALTONAGA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 141 F. Supp. 3d 1295 (Reiseck v. Universal Communications of Miami, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reiseck v. Universal Communications of Miami, Inc., 141 F. Supp. 3d 1295, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147090, 2015 WL 6561689 (S.D. Fla. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District ‘ Judge

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Plaintiff, Lynore Reiseck’s (“PlaintiffFs]”) [1298]*1298Motion for Reconsideration and Memorandum of Law in Support of Subject Matter Jurisdiction ... (“Motion”) [ECF No. 33], filed June 5, 2015, seeking reconsideration of a May 27 Order [ECF No. 32], denying Plaintiffs Motion for Proceedings Supplementary and Impleading Third Party (“Motion for Proceedings Supplementary”) [ECF No. 30]. Defendant, Carl Ruder-man (“Ruderman”) filed a Response ... (“Response”) [ECF No. 34] and Supplemental Memorandum ... (“SuppLMemo”) [ECF No. 37] in opposition to the Motion. Plaintiff filed a Reply ... (“Reply”) [ECF No. 38]. Defendants, Universal Communications of Miami, Inc. (“Universal Communications”); Blue Horizon Media, Inc. (“Blue Horizon”); Douglas Gollan (“Gol-lan”); Geoffrey Lurie (“Lurie”); and David Bernstein (“Bernstein”)1 have not responded to the Motion, nor have they otherwise appeared in this action. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions, the record, and applicable law.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The New York Litigation

On October 29, 2014, Plaintiff obtained a Judgment [ECF No. 1] in the amount of $284,078.86 against Ruderman, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon in the action styled Reiseck v. Universal Communications of Miami, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:06-CV-00777-LGS-JCF, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (“S.D.N.Y. Case”). The S.D.N.Y. Case began in 2004, when Plaintiff filed suit in New York state court against Defendants, alleging wrongful withholding of overtime pay in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and New York state law. (See S.D.N.Y. Case, Mar. 19, 2014 Opinion & Order (“S.D.N.Y. Order”) [ECF No. 152] l).2 Defendants removed the action to the Southern District of New York in 2006. (See id.). The parties litigated a series of substantive motions as well as an appeal, and in 2012, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Lurie and Bernstein but denied it as to Ruderman and Blue Horizon. (See id. 1-2). As for Gollan, Plaintiff later settled her claim against him. (See id. 3).

On July 12, 2013, counsel for Ruderman, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon moved to withdraw, advising the court those three defendants had discharged his firm. (See id. 2). On July 16, 2013, the court granted the motion and ordered Universal Communications and Blue Horizon to retain new counsel by July 29, 2013. (See id.). On July 23, 2013, Ruderman informed the court he did not intend to defend the claims against him. (See id.). On August 22, 2013, the court ordered Universal Communications and Blue Horizon to show cause at a hearing why they should not be found in default and judgment should not be entered against them on the issue of liability. (See id.). Universal Communications and Blue Horizon failed to appear by counsel at the show cause hearing. (See id.).

On December 13, 2013, Plaintiff filed a motion for default judgment against Ru-derman, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon. (See id. 3). The court set a show cause hearing on the matter, which it [1299]*1299adjourned twice when Ruderman, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon failed to appear. (See id). Despite these failures to appear, the. failure to comply with court orders requiring pretrial submissions, ■ and failure to. file a formal response to the motion for default judgment, Ruderman sent the court e-mails asking it to “closely scrutinize the amount of damages sought by Plaintiff.” (Id.). On March 19, 2014, the court found Ruder-man, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon in default, adjudicated them liable, and referred the matter to a magistrate judge for an inquest on damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. (See id. 5-7). On October 30, 2014, the court entered the Judgment, awarding Plaintiff $284,078.86 against Ruderman, Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon, jointly and severally. (See Judgment).

B. The Florida Litigation

1. Registering the Judgment

According to Ruderman, in January 2015, he received a “Notice of Entry of Foreign Judgment With Attached Affidavit” that appeared to have been filed in Florida state court, but upon further diligence, he was unable to confirm with the Florida state court or with Plaintiffs prior counsel whether the Nptice had in fact been filed. (Suppl. Memo -1; see also Objection ... (“Objection”) [ECF No. 7] 2 n.l). Thus, “in an abundance of caution,” Ruderman filed a complaint to invalidate foreign judgment (“complaint”) [ECF No. 34-2] in Florida state court in the case styled Ruderman v. Reiseck, Case No. 2015-002927-CA-01 (the “State Court Case”). (Suppl. Memo 1-2). The complaint alleged Plaintiff failed to comply with Florida’s procedural requirements for filing a judgment in state court, and it sought to invalidate the Judgment on substantive, grounds. (See generally compl.). The complaint also requested enforcement of ;the Judgment be stayed pending a determination on the merits of the claims. (See generally id.). According to Reiseck, she “was nbt served with the initial summons and complaint” and did not receive “proper notice” of the State Court Case until June 5,2015. (Reply 8).

Meanwhile, on March 6, 2015, about four months after the Judgment was entered, Plaintiff registered the Judgment in this District. (See [ECF No.. 1]). On that same day the Clerk of Court issued a Writ of Execution [ECF No. 5] with respect to property in this District belonging to Ru-derman, ..Universal Communications, and Blue Horizon. On .April 1, 2015, Ruder-man first appeared in this action and, without filing a motion seeking affirmative relief, filed the Objection to the Writ of Execution, arguing (1). Plaintiff failed to comply with Florida’s procedural rules for filing a judgment in- state court and. (2) “the Writ of Execution is invalid and unenforceable as to Ruderman” based on three exemptions. (Objection 1-2). Plaintiff responded to the Objection on April 10, 2015 (see Opposition ... [ECF -No. 8]), and on April 20,2015, Ruderman filed a Reply ... [ECF No. 9],'

2. The Levy

On May 7, 2015, Plaintiff filed a sealed Ex-Parte Motion for ■ Break Order ... [ECF No. 11], which the Court granted (see Sealed Break Order [ECF No. 13]), directing the U.S. Marshal to execute'and enforce the Writ of Execution with respect to assets owned by Ruderman located at his residence in Aventura,- ■ Florida (the “Aventura Property”). (See Suppl. Memo 2). On May 11, 2015, the U.S. Marshal appeared at the Aventura Property and [1300]*1300began seizing assets that Ruderman contended were owned by third parties, including The Ruderman Family Trust and The Ruderman Art Trust (together, -the “Trusts”). (See id,.).

During the levy, Ruderman filed an Emergency Motion to, Stay Levy/Execution and Request for Immediate Hearing (“First Emergency Motion”) [ECF . No. 14], seeking to stay the levy pending an adjudication of the issues raised in the Objection. Later that same day, Ruder-man filed an Emergency Motion to Enforce Agreement and Restore the Status Quo (“Second Emergency Motion”) [ECF No.

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141 F. Supp. 3d 1295, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147090, 2015 WL 6561689, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reiseck-v-universal-communications-of-miami-inc-flsd-2015.