Rocket Mortgage, LLC v. Cito Mechanical Design, Inc et al

Filing 39

ORDER (1) Adopting Recommended Disposition of 33 Report and Recommendation and (2) Granting in Part and Denying in Part Plaintiff's 26 Motion for Default Judgment. Signed by District Judge Matthew F. Leitman. (HRya)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 23-cv-10583
Hon. Matthew F. Leitman

v.
CITO MECHANICAL
DESIGN, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
__________________________________________________________________/
ORDER (1) ADOPTING RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION OF REPORT
AND RECOMMENDATION (ECF No. 33) AND (2) GRANTING IN PART
AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR DEFAULT
JUDGMENT (ECF No. 26)
On March 13, 2023, Plaintiff Rocket Mortgage, LLC filed this breach of
contract and fraud action against Defendants Cito Mechanical Design, Inc. and
Claudia Blackwell, Cito’s shareholder and loan officer. (See Compl., ECF No. 1.)
Cito never appeared in this action. Accordingly, on May 16, 2023, the Clerk of the
Court entered a default against Cito. (See Default, ECF No. 11.) Rocket Mortgage
then filed a motion for a default judgment against Cito. (See Mot., ECF No. 26.)
Cito never responded to the motion.
On November 27, 2023, the assigned Magistrate Judge issued a report and
recommendation in which he recommended that the Court grant Rocket Mortgage’s
motion in part and deny it in part (the “R&R”). (See R&R, ECF No. 33.) More
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specifically, the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Court grant the motion to
the extent that it sought (1) entry of a final judgment “against Cito in the amount of
$747,636.00” and (2) a declaratory judgment that “Cito is obligated, under Section
8 of the [parties’] Agreement, to defend, indemnify, and hold Rocket Mortgage
harmless for ‘any and all losses, liabilities, claims, damages, costs (including
allocated costs of in-house counsel), and actions suffered or incurred’ by Rocket
Mortgage as a result of Cito’s breach of ‘any covenant, condition, term, obligation,
representation or warranty’ contained in the Agreement, including all liabilities it
might incur by virtue of it being forced to sign indemnification agreements with [the
Department of Housing and Urban Development].” (Id., PageID.286.)

The

Magistrate Judge further recommended that the Court deny the motion “[i]n all other
respects.” (Id.)
At the conclusion of the R&R, the Magistrate Judge informed the parties that
if they wanted to seek review of his recommendation, they needed to file specific
objections with the Court within fourteen days. (See id., PageID.287.)
No party has filed any objections to the R&R. Nor has any party contacted
the Court seeking additional time to file objections. The failure to object to an R&R
releases the Court from its duty to independently review the matter. See Thomas v.
Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985). See also Ivey v. Wilson, 832 F.2d 950, (6th Cir. 1987)
(explaining that where party fails to file “timely objections” to report and

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recommendation, court may accept that recommendation “without expressing any
view on the merits of the magistrate’s conclusions”). Likewise, the failure to file
objections to an R&R waives any further right to appeal. See Howard v. Sec’y of
Health and Human Servs., 932 F.2d 505 (6th Cir. 1991); Smith v. Detroit Fed’n of
Teachers Local 231, 829 F.2d 1370, 1373 (6th Cir. 1987).
Accordingly, because no party filed any objections to the R&R, IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge’s recommended disposition of
Rocket Mortgage’s motion for default judgment is ADOPTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Rocket Mortgage’s motion for a default
judgment against Cito (ECF No. 26) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN
PART as described above and described in the R&R.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Matthew F. Leitman
MATTHEW F. LEITMAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated: February 5, 2024
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon the
parties and/or counsel of record on February 5, 2024, by electronic means and/or
ordinary mail.
s/Holly A. Ryan
Case Manager
[phone]

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