UBS Financial Services Inc. v. Pirnie

• Court: District Court, D. Massachusetts
• Decided: July 7, 2025
• Docket: 1:24-cv-12943
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

) UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. ) and UBS CREDIT CORP., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) No. 1:24-cv-12943-JEK ) JASON MALCOLM PIRNIE, ) ) Defendant. ) )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION KOBICK, J. In November 2024, plaintiffs UBS Financial Services Inc. and UBS Credit Corp. filed a petition pursuant to 9 U.S.C. § 9 for an order confirming an arbitration award issued by a sole arbitrator before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in November 2023. ECF 1; see ECF 2-4 (arbitration decision). Defendant Jason Malcolm Pirnie, a former employee of UBS Financial Services Inc., was served with the summons, the petition, and a memorandum of law supporting the petition on November 29, 2024. ECF 5. Pirnie failed to file a timely response, and, at the plaintiffs’ request, the clerk entered a notice of default on January 29, 2025. ECF 8, 9. Pirnie filed various financial and medical documents in response, but he did not object to the notice of default or express any intent to defend this lawsuit. See ECF 11. The plaintiffs subsequently filed a motion for default judgment on February 20, 2025, ECF 12, which Pirnie did not oppose. On April 23, 2025, Magistrate Judge Page Kelley issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that this Court grant the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment. ECF 16. She concluded that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1); the plaintiffs have stated a claim under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 9; Pirnie received fair notice and the opportunity to object; and the plaintiffs’ claim is for a sum certain, which is established by the arbitrator’s decision. See ECF 16, at 3-5; In re The Home Rests., Inc., 285 F.3d 111, 114 (1st Cir. 2002).

Pirnie did not file objections to the Report and Recommendation within the time allowed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). Having reviewed the Report and Recommendation, I agree with Judge Kelley’s determination that the plaintiffs are entitled to default judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b). Judge Kelley’s recommendation regarding the damages award will be modified only to exclude the filing fee, which is accounted for in the award of costs.1 The plaintiffs will be awarded damages of $245,817.95, as determined by the arbitrator, ECF 2-4, at 3, plus costs in the amount of $405 for the filing fee, and prejudgment interest pursuant to M.G.L. c. 231, § 6C. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that: 1. The Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, ECF 16, is ADOPTED AS

MODIFIED and INCORPORATED pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 2. For the reasons stated in the Report and Recommendation, the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment, ECF 12, is GRANTED.

1 The plaintiffs request damages in the amount of $245,817.95, as determined by the arbitrator, ECF 2-4, at 3, plus costs in the amount of the filing fee for this Court. See ECF 12, ¶ 12. The plaintiffs erroneously state in their motion for default judgment that the filing fee is $450, ECF 12, ¶ 12, but, in fact, the filing fee is $405, see ECF 16, at 5 n.3 (Report and Recommendation noting this error). The Report and Recommendation recommends awarding damages in the amount of $246,267.95, which represents the sum of the damages sought by the plaintiffs and the erroneously stated filing fee of $450. See ECF 16, at 6. The plaintiffs will only be awarded damages in the amount determined by the arbitrator plus costs in the amount of the filing fee of $405. 3. Pirnie is ORDERED to pay the plaintiffs damages in the amount of $245,817.95, costs in the amount of $405, and prejudgment interest at a rate of 12% per annum from November 26, 2024 to July 7, 2025, in the amount of $18,051.85, for a total judgment of $264,274.80. SO ORDERED.

/s/ Julia E. Kobick JULIA E. KOBICK UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated: July 7, 2025