Johnson v. Byer Properties, L.P.

Filing 18

ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE 16 PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 1/4/2018. (blflc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/4/2018)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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SCOTT JOHNSON,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 17-cv-02135-BLF

v.
BYER PROPERTIES, L.P.,

ORDER DENYING WITHOUT
PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT

Defendant.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Plaintiff Scott Johnson (“Plaintiff”) moves for default judgment against Defendant Byer

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Properties, L.P. (“Defendant”) in this action for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act

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of 1990 and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act. See Mem. P. & A. ISO Appl. Default J.

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(“Mem.”), ECF 16-1. The Court held a hearing on Plaintiff’s motion on January 4, 2018.

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At the hearing, the Court noted that although Plaintiff requests $12,000 in statutory

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damages in his motion for default judgment, the Complaint itself only contains a prayer for $4,000

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in statutory damages. See ECF 1 (“Compl.”) at 8. In particular, Plaintiff’s motion for default

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judgment asserts that although Plaintiff visited Defendant’s property seven times, Plaintiff

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requests only three statutory penalty assessments of $4,000 each for a total of $12,000. See Mem.

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at 6. This representation, or any similar allegation, is entirely absent from the Complaint.

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Therefore, a due process issue exists because Defendant may have chosen to default based on the

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damages sought in the Complaint. “A default judgment must not differ in kind from, or exceed in

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amount, what is demanded in the pleadings.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(c). As currently pled, Plaintiff has

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not proven entitlement to more than $4,000 in statutory damages.

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At the hearing, Plaintiff requested leave to amend the Complaint in order to allege that he

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seeks statutory penalty assessments of $4,000 per violation, and to specify the number of

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violations for which he seeks to recover. The Court granted Plaintiff’s request to amend and serve

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the amended complaint on Defendant.

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For the foregoing reasons, as well as those stated on the record at the hearing, Plaintiff’s

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motion for default judgment is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Plaintiff may file an amended

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complaint on or before February 5, 2018.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: January 4, 2018
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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