Petaway v. Osden et al

Filing 44

ORDER denying 30 Motion for Reconsideration. Signed by Judge Victor A. Bolden on 9/7/2017. (Giammatteo, J.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

WILLIAM PETAWAY,
Plaintiff,

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v.
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COUNSELOR SUPERVISOR OSDEN, ET AL :
Defendants.
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Case No. 3:17-cv-00004 (VAB)

Ruling on Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration
Plaintiff William Petaway filed this pro se complaint on January 3, 2017, alleging
violations of his civil rights by defendants acting in their individual and official capacities.
Compl., ECF No. 1. Mr. Petaway moves for reconsideration of the denial of his motion for
default entry, arguing that the Clerk should have considered a “partial default.” Mot. To
Reconsider, ECF No. 30. The motion will be DENIED.
Motions for reconsideration are only granted if a party can “point to controlling decisions
or data that the Court overlooked.” Shrader v. CSX Transp. Inc., 70 F.3d 255, 257 (2d Cir.
1995). Under Rule 55(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[w]hen a party against whom
a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend . . . , the clerk
must enter the party's default.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Even assuming a "partial default" was an
appropriate option for the Clerk of Court, the default was cured once Defendants appeared in
their official capacity. The Court has a “strong preference for resolving disputes on the merits,”
New York v. Green, 420 F.3d 99, 104 (2d Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted), and must
therefore deny Mr. Petaway's motion.

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SO ORDERED at Bridgeport, Connecticut, this 7th day of September, 2017.

/s/ Victor A. Bolden
Victor A. Bolden
United States District Judge

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