Opinion
17-cv-1734 (ENV) (SJB)
08-25-2018
ISRAEL DEMBITZER, Plaintiff, v. WEINBERG MEDIATION GROUP, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER
This action was filed on March 28, 2017, by plaintiff Israel Dembitzer, against defendant Weinberg Mediation Group, LLC ("WMG"), alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. ("FDCPA"). Dkt. No. 1. The time for WMG to answer the complaint lapsed, and so Dembitzer moved for a certificate of default, which the Clerk of Court granted on June 28, 2017. Dkt. No. 11. Dembitzer then filed a motion for default judgment, Dkt. No. 12, which was referred to Magistrate Judge Bulsara for an assessment of liability and an inquest as to damages. See Order, May 23, 2018.
By Report and Recommendation, dated August 3, 2018, Judge Bulsara recommended that the motion for a default judgment be granted. Dkt. No. 13. Judge Bulsara carefully weighed the three requisite factors to be considered in reviewing a motion for default judgment, and determined that entry of such was warranted. Id. at 3-5. Judge Bulsara then recommended that Dembitzer be awarded $500 in statutory damages for WMG's two FDCPA violations. Id. at 10-11. Finally, Judge Bulsara rejected plaintiff's request for counsel to be awarded an hourly rate of $350, and to pay a senior partner at counsel's firm. Id. at 12. He ultimately recommended an award of $2,285 in attorney's fees and $400 in costs. Id. at 13-15. With notice of the time to object given, see id. at 15, no party has filed an objection to the R&R, and the time to do so has passed.
Where a party has not objected, clear-error review applies. See Dafeng Hengwei Textile Co. v. Aceco Indus. & Commercial Corp., 54 F. Supp. 3d 279, 283 (E.D.N.Y. 2014). In accordance with this standard of review, the Court has carefully reviewed Judge Bulsara's R&R, and finds it to be correct, well-reasoned, and free of any clear error. The Court, therefore, adopts the R&R, in its entirety, as the opinion of the Court.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Magistrate Judge Bulsara's R&R, Dkt. No. 13, dated August 3, 2018, is adopted in its entirety, as the opinion of the Court.
The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $3,185, which includes $500 in statutory violations, $2,285 in attorney's fees, and $400 in costs.
The Clerk of Court is further directed to close this case.
So Ordered. Dated: Brooklyn, New York
August 25, 2018
/s/ Hon Eric N. Vitaliano
ERIC N. VITALIANO
United States District Judge