Krantz v. DT & C Global Management LLC

DT&C, a Chicago ground transportation company, and its owners were sued by former employees and the Secretary of Labor for violating state wage‐payment laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201. After the defendants ignored court orders, the district judges entered default judgments for the plaintiffs. Eleven months later, the defendants moved to vacate both judgments, FRCP 60(b), arguing that the company had closed in 2015 and no longer received mail at the office address and that one of the owners was in poor health so that he did not keep in contact with the lawyer. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of the motions. Because the defendants did not show good cause for the default, did not act quickly in filing motions to vacate, and failed to articulate any meritorious defenses, the district judges did not abuse their discretion. The default was the result of “inattention to the litigation” rather than illness, and the defendants had not shown that they had a legitimate defense. View "Krantz v. DT & C Global Management LLC" on Justia Law