OPINION AND ORDER This dispute arises from a considerably delayed and apparently still uncompleted renovation project at Plaintiff Joshua Ramus’s cooperative apartment in Manhattan. Ramus brings this action against Defendants Graham R. Bruwer and Gerard E. Metoyer, two employees of the company that Ramus retained as the general contractor to perform the work. After both Defendants failed to timely answer the Complaint, Ramus moved for a default judgment. In opposing default judgment, Defendants purport to also cross-move for the Court to compel mediation and arbitration, citing the terms of the agreement for the renovation project. For reasons that follow, Ramus’s motion for a default judgment against Defendants is denied, the certificates of default that had been issued for Defendants are vacated, and Defendants’ cross-motion to compel is denied without prejudice. I. Background A. Facts1 Ramus is the sole owner of the shares allocated to the cooperative apartment located at 100 Hudson Street, Apartment 2E, in New York, New York (the “Apartment”). Complaint 8. Bulson Management, LLC (“Bulson”) was a part of a bi-coastal construction business with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. Id. 6.2 On or about August 6, 2020, Ramus and Bulson entered into an agreement, signed by Bruwer as Bulson’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), pursuant to which Bulson would serve as the general contractor for a complete renovation of the Apartment. Id.
9, 11, Exh. A (“Agreement”). At the time, Bruwer was Bulson’s sole member and CEO. Id.