The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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KISS NAIL PRODUCTS, INC.,
Plaintiff,
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
- against - 18-CV-5625 (PKC) (AYS)
SHENZHEN JINRI ELECTRICAL
APPLIANCE CO. LTD. d/b/a VAV and VIVID
& VOGUE; and JOHN DOE 1 d/b/a
ROPALIA,
Defendants.
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PAMELA K. CHEN, United States District Judge:
Plaintiff Kiss Nail Products, Inc. brought this action for patent infringement on October 9,
2018 against Defendants Shenzhen Jinri Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd. d/b/a Vav and Vivid and
Vogue (“Jinri”), and John Doe 1 d/b/a Ropalia (“Ropalia”), pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271. (See
generally Complaint, Dkt. 1.) After attempting to serve process on Defendant Jinri,1 and after
appearing before this Court to discuss its anticipated motion for default judgment,2 Plaintiff moved
1 Plaintiff’s international service provider transmitted the summons and complaint to the
Chinese Central Authority on December 20, 2018. (R&R, Dkt. 21, at 4.) Plaintiff advised the
Court on April 26, 2019 that it was attempting to serve Defendants via the Hague Convention.
(Dkt. 11.) No certificate or response has been received from the Chinese Central Authority. (R&R,
Dkt. 21, at 4.)
2 On June 27, 2019, Plaintiff requested a pre-motion conference to discuss its anticipated
motion for default judgment. (Dkt. 12.) At the pre-motion conference on July 17, 2019, the Court
requested that Plaintiff submit by August 1, 2019: (1) cases, if any, in which a court considered
whether notice was given to the international defendant in deciding whether to permit the plaintiff
to move for a default judgment, prior to the defendant being served by its country’s Central
Authority; and (2) cases, if any, in which a court rejected the request to move for a default judgment
under circumstances similar to this case. (July 17, 2019 Minute Entry.) Plaintiff filed its
submission on August 1, 2019 (Dkt. 14), and the Court directed Plaintiff to send via courier to
Defendant Jinri a copy of the summons and complaint, as well as the correspondence with the
for default judgment against Defendant Jinri on September 23, 2019. (Dkt. 19.) This motion was
referred to the Honorable Gary R. Brown, United States Magistrate Judge, for a Report and
Recommendation (“R&R”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Local Rule 72.1(d). On January
21, 2020, the case was reassigned to the Honorable Anne Y. Shields, United States Magistrate
Judge.
On July 23, 2020, Judge Shields recommended entry of judgment on behalf of Plaintiff and
that a permanent injunction issue barring Defendant Jinri from infringing on Plaintiff’s protected
patent. (R&R, Dkt. 21, at 2.) The R&R notified Defendant of its right to file written objections
to the R&R, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 6(a) and 72.
(Id. at 17.) A copy of the R&R was served on Defendant Jinri on July 23, 2020. (See Certificate
of Service, Dkt. 22.)3
A district court reviewing a magistrate judge’s R&R “may accept, reject, or modify, in
whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1)(C). Where no party objects to the magistrate judge’s recommendation, the district
court “need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record.” Jarvis v. N.
Am. Globex Fund L.P., 823 F. Supp. 2d 161, 163 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) (citation omitted). The statutory
period for filing objections has expired, and no objections to Judge Shields’s R&R have been filed.
Court concerning the default judgment, by August 23, 2019. (Aug. 14, 2019 Order.) On August
20, 2019, Plaintiff sent the papers by FedEx to Defendant Jinri. (R&R, Dkt. 21, at 5.) The papers
were returned to Plaintiff on September 10, 2019 with a note stating that “there is no this people
and an error address.” (Id.) Plaintiff then emailed the contents of the FedEx package to email
addresses known to be associated with Defendant Jinri, again receiving no response. (Id.)
3 Plaintiff’s counsel served the R&R on Defendant Jinri via international courier (FedEx
international priority mail) to the company’s address in Shenzhen, China. (Certificate of Service,
Dkt. 22.)
The Court has reviewed both the record and Judge Shields’s well-reasoned and thorough
R&R. Finding no clear error in Judge Shields’s decision, the Court adopts the R&R in its entirety,
grants Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment,4 and permanently enjoins Defendant Jinri from
infringing on the patent held by Plaintiff.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Pamela K. Chen
Pamela K. Chen
United States District Judge
Dated: August 12, 2020
Brooklyn, New York
4 As noted in the R&R, before this case can be closed and judgment entered, Plaintiff must
dismiss Defendant John Doe 1 d/b/a Ropalia from this action. (R&R, Dkt. 21, at 1 n.1.)