Steven B. Silverstein v. Jeffrey A. Wolf et al. - Default Judgment Denied

D. Colorado Opinions

Filed March 2nd, 2026

Detected March 5th, 2026

Summary

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied a plaintiff's motion for default judgment against defendant Joshua Rey in civil action No. 22-cv-01817. The court considered the plaintiff's motion and supporting documents.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, in civil action No. 22-cv-01817, has issued an order denying the plaintiff Steven B. Silverstein's motion for default judgment against defendant Joshua Rey. The plaintiff had sought default judgment after serving Rey with the First Amended Complaint on July 21, 2023, and submitting a proof of service. The court's decision indicates that the criteria for granting default judgment were not met.

This ruling is a procedural development in ongoing litigation. For legal professionals involved in this case, the denial of the motion means the case will proceed without a default judgment against Mr. Rey. No specific compliance actions or deadlines are imposed on external parties by this court order, as it pertains directly to the ongoing judicial process between the named parties.

Source document (simplified)

Support FLP

CourtListener is a project of Free
Law Project, a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit. Members help support our work and get special access to features.

Please become a member today.

Join Free.law Now

March 2, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

Steven B. Silverstein v. Jeffrey A. Wolf, Jean Wolf, Kiva LLC, Wheatley Irrevocable Trust, Meshakai Wolf, Rapid Park Holding Corp, Patush, LLC, 183 West Alameda, LLC, Madison Family Enterprises, LLC, Joshua Rey, Evergreen Family Irrevocable Trust, and Foundation for Arts Culture & Education Ltd.

District Court, D. Colorado

Citations: None known
Docket Number: 1:22-cv-01817
Precedential Status: Unknown Status
Opinion
Authorities (0)
Cited By (0)
Summaries (0)
Similar Cases (10.7K)
PDF

Trial Court Document

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer

Civil Action No. 22-cv-01817-PAB-NRN

STEVEN B. SILVERSTEIN,

Plaintiff,

JEFFREY A. WOLF,

JEAN WOLF,

KIVA LLC,

WHEATLEY IRREVOCABLE TRUST,

MESHAKAI WOLF,

RAPID PARK HOLDING CORP,

PATUSH, LLC,

183 WEST ALAMEDA, LLC,

MADISON FAMILY ENTERPRISES, LLC,

JOSHUA REY,

EVERGREEN FAMILY IRREVOCABLE TRUST, AND

FOUNDATION FOR ARTS CULTURE & EDUCATION LTD.,

Defendants.

                    ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment
against Joshua Rey [Docket No. 218]. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332.

The background facts of this case are set forth in previous orders of the Court.

See Docket No. 113 at 1-4; Docket No. 177 at 2-7; Docket No. 248 at 1-7. In the
present motion, plaintiff Steven B. Silverstein seeks default judgment against defendant
Joshua Rey. Docket No. 218 at 1. In support of his motion, Mr. Silverstein explains that
Mr. Rey “was served personally with a summons and a copy of the First Amended
Complaint on 7/21/2023. . . . Service was by a licensed process server.” Id., ¶ 2. Mr.
Silverstein has submitted a proof of service. Docket No. 116.

Mr. Silverstein filed his first amended complaint on July 12, 2023. Docket No. 87.

One of the amendments in the first amended complaint was the addition of Mr. Rey as a

defendant. Id.; see also Docket No. 113 at 2.

On July 28, 2023, the Court issued an order on the preliminary injunction motion
filed by Mr. Silverstein. Docket No. 113. The Court denied the motion based on the fact
that the operative complaint – the first amended complaint at Docket No. 87 – contained
no causes of action. Id. at 6-7. As the Court explained, “[t]here is no section for causes
of action. In fact, there are no allegations that clearly identify any cause of action under
any identified statute or principle of common law against any of the named defendants.” Id. at 3. Thus, the first amended complaint contained no claim against Mr. Rey.
On August 18, 2023, Mr. Silverstein filed his second amended complaint. Docket

No. 125. The second amended complaint is the operative complaint. The second
amended complaint contains six claims based on violations of the Colorado Uniform
Fraudulent Transfer Act (“CUFTA”) and one claim for civil conspiracy. See id. at 7-28.

The third CUFTA claim in this complaint is directed against Mr. Rey. See id. at 17-20,
¶¶ 61-76.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(a)(2) states that “[n]o service is required on a
party who is in default for failing to appear. But a pleading that asserts a new claim for
relief against such a party must be served on that party under Rule 4.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
5(a)(2); see also Williams v. Cutting Edge Hairstyling, 2010 WL 3908608, at *1 (D. Kan.
Oct. 1, 2010) (“When, as here, a defendant has failed to appear, a pleading that asserts
a new claim for relief against the defendant must be served under Rule 4.”). The
purpose of Rule 5(a)(2) is “to ensure that a party's decision not to defend a lawsuit is an
informed one about [his] potential liability.” Bodied by Bella Boutique LLC v. Bodyed by
Bella LLC, 2023 WL 356238, at *5 (D. Utah Jan. 23, 2023). Because the second
amended complaint states a claim for relief against Mr. Rey, and the first amended
complaint did not, Mr. Rey must be served with the second amended complaint before
default judgment is appropriate. As Mr. Silverstein provides no evidence that he served
Mr. Rey with the second amended complaint, the Court will deny without prejudice Mr.
Silverstein’s motion for default judgment.
It is therefore
ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment against Joshua Rey
[Docket No. 218] is DENIED without prejudice.
DATED March 2, 2026.
BY THE COURT:
we of
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
Chief United States District Judge