James River Insurance Company v. Retro, LLC et al

Filing 55

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING plf James River Insurance Company's 54 MOTION for Default Judgment against Retro and Phillips, as further set out in order. Signed by Chief Judge William Keith Watkins on 7/20/16. (Attachments: # 1 civil appeals checklist)(djy, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHERN DIVISION
JAMES RIVER INSURANCE CO.,
Plaintiff,
v.
RETRO, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

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) CASE NO. 2:15-CV-465-WKW
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MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Before the court is Plaintiff James River Insurance Company’s motion for
default judgment against Defendants Retro, LLC d/b/a Rewind (“Retro”), and
Mickey Phillips. (Doc. # 39); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b).
On October 16, 2015, the Clerk of the Court entered default against Retro
and Phillips. (Doc. # 29.) The well-pleaded allegations of the complaint state a
cause of action for declaratory judgment against Retro and Phillips. Further, for
the reasons stated in the June 9, 2016 Memorandum Opinion and Order (Doc. #
51), under Alabama law, Plaintiff is entitled to a declaratory judgment that it owes
no duty to defend or indemnify Retro or Phillips with respect to the state court
lawsuits filed by Jessica Lynn Tompkins and Natalie Lina Richardson. See Tyco
Fire & Sec., LLC v. Alcocer, 218 F. App’x 860, 863 (11th Cir. 2007) (“Before
entering a default judgment . . . , the district court must ensure that the well-

pleaded allegations in the complaint, which are taken as true due to the default,
actually state a substantive cause of action and that there is a substantive, sufficient
basis in the pleadings for the particular relief sought.”).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff James River Insurance
Company’s motion for default judgment against Retro and Phillips (Doc. # 39) is
GRANTED.
Final declaratory judgment will be entered separately.
DONE this 20th day of July, 2016.
/s/ W. Keith Watkins
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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