Background
Plaintiff Susan Flaherty suffered severe injuries in Belize after an employee of Defendant Amigos Del Mar Ltd. pushed her off a dive boat. She sued in the District of Massachusetts, serving the Belizean company under the Hague Service Convention. The company did not appear, and the court entered a default judgment awarding over six million dollars. Two years later, the company appeared in federal court to vacate the judgment, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction.
The court’s reasoning
The court affirmed the district court’s decision, ruling that the defendant’s motion was barred by the reasonable time requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure sixty point one. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Coney Island Auto Parts established that Rule sixty point b four motions must comply with this time limit. The First Circuit found that a delay of nearly two years, without a valid justification, was unreasonable. The defendant’s claim that counsel advised them not to appear due to jurisdictional concerns was rejected, as the court had already provided notice of its jurisdictional finding.
What it means going forward
This ruling reinforces the finality of default judgments and requires defendants to act promptly when challenging jurisdiction, even in maritime cases involving foreign entities.