Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 4.465 Acres of Land in Lake County Florida et al

Filing 48

ORDER granting 43 Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Default. Signed by Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lammens on 8/10/2016. (CAB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
OCALA DIVISION
SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 5:16-cv-169-Oc-30PRL

4.465 ACRES OF LAND IN LAKE
COUNTY FLORIDA, TROY D. LEWIS,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
UNKNOWN OWNERS, IF ANY, LOIS
BENAGLIO and FIRST NATIONAL
BANK OF AMERICA
Defendants.

ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for entry of clerk’s default as to Defendant, Troy D.
Lewis. (Doc. 43). The Court ordered Plaintiff to show cause why the motion for clerk’s default
should not be denied for failure to establish that service was effected on Troy D. Lewis. (Doc.
45). Plaintiff then filed a declaration, in which it represents that it served Troy D. Lewis through
his authorized agent, his attorney Richard N. Milian, Esq. (Doc. 46). Based on this declaration
and the proof of service (Doc. 12), Plaintiff renews its motion for clerk’s default. (Doc. 47).
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 55(a), “[w]hen a party against whom a
judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is
shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.” Before a clerk’s default
can be entered, however, the serving party must establish that the defaulting party was properly
served. Laing v. Cordi, III, No. 2:11cv-566-FtM- 29SPC, 2012 WL 4828312 at *1 (M.D. Fla.

Oct. 10, 2012); Manheim Automotive Fin., Servs., Inc. v. Information Matrix Tech., Inc., No. 2:12cv-360-FtM-29-SPC, 2012 WL 3947207 at *1 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 10, 2012).
Under federal law, an individual “may be served in a judicial district of the United States
by . . . delivering a copy of [the summons and the complaint] to an agent authorized by appointment
. . . to receive service of process.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(2)(C). Here, the declaration of Plaintiff’s
attorney, Edgar Lopez, Esq., represents that he received an attorney authorization from Troy D.
Lewis’s attorney, Richard N. Milian, Esq., and that the authorization stated that Milian could
accept service on behalf of Troy D. Lewis. (Doc. 46). The proof of service shows that Milian
was served as a substitute for Troy D. Lewis. (Doc. 12). Such service was proper. See, e.g.,
Mybusinessloan.com, LLC v. Forum Networking Events, Inc., No. 8:15-CV-2739-T-36JSS, 2016
WL 3919484, at *3 (M.D. Fla. June 10, 2016), report and recommendation adopted, No. 8:15CV-2739-T-36JSS, 2016 WL 3906959 (M.D. Fla. July 19, 2016) (denying a motion to set aside a
clerk’s default and finding that service of process was proper where an individual’s assistant
represented that “she was authorized to accept service on [the individual’s] behalf” and the
assistant accepted service on that individual’s behalf).
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion (Doc. 43) is GRANTED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to
enter default against Defendant Troy D. Lewis.
DONE and ORDERED in Ocala, Florida on August 10, 2016.

Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record
Unrepresented Parties
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