GULF COAST BANK AND TRUST CO v. JO-JEN INC et al
Filing
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ORDER granting 12 Motion for entry of Final Judgment. Ordered by US DISTRICT JUDGE C ASHLEY ROYAL on 7/5/16 (lap)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
GULF COAST BANK &
TRUST CO.,
Plaintiff,
v.
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No. 5:16‐CV‐108 (CAR)
JO‐JEN, INC.,
JOSEPH D.CUNNINGHAM, and
KRISTINE K.CUNNINGHAM,
Defendants.
__________________________________ :
ORDER ON MOTION FOR ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT
Before the Court is Plaintiff Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Co.’s Motion for Entry of
Final Judgment [Doc. 12] pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). Rule 54(b)
permits a district court to enter “final judgment as to one or more, but fewer than all,
claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for
delay.”1 In deciding whether to certify a partial final judgment, “[a] district court must
follow a two‐step analysis[.]”2 “First, the court must determine that its final judgment
is, in fact, both ‘final’ and a ‘judgment.’”3 “Second, having found that the decision was
a final judgment, the district court must then determine that there is no ‘just reason for
Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b).
2 Lloyd Noland Foundation, Inc. v. Tenet Health Care Corp., 483 F.3d 773, 777 (11th Cir. 2007).
3 Id. (quoting Curtiss‐Wright Corp. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 446 U.S. 1, 7 (1980)).
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delay’ in certifying it as final and immediately appealable.”4
[I]n deciding whether there are no just reasons to delay the appeal of
individual final judgments ..., a district court must take into account
judicial administrative interests as well as the equities involved.
Consideration of the former is necessary to assure that application of the
Rule effectively preserves the historic federal policy against piecemeal
appeals. It [is] therefore proper for the District Judge [ ] to consider such
factors as whether the claims under review [a]re separable from the others
remaining to be adjudicated and whether the nature of the claims already
determined [i]s such that no appellate court would have to decide the
same issues more than once even if there were subsequent appeals.5
In this case, the Court’s June 29, 2016 Order, which granted Plaintiff’s Motion for
Default Judgment, was unquestionably a final judgment for purposes of Rule 54(b).6
After balancing the judicial administrative interests and relevant equitable concerns, the
Court finds there is no just reason for delay in certification of partial judgment. The
claims and issues the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals would need to address if Jen‐Jo,
Inc. appeals are “separable from the other remaining to be adjudicated” because the
judgment against Jen‐Jo, Inc., is by default.7 To the extent the Defendants Joseph
Cunningham and Kristine Cunningham emerge from bankruptcy and this case
proceeds, they will be entitled to respond to the Complaint and any potential appeals
Id. at 778 (quoting Curtiss‐Wright Corp., 446 U.S. at 8).
5 Curtiss‐Wright Corp., 446 U.S. at 8.
6 See First Citizens Bank and Trust Co., Inc. v. MJI, LLC, No. 1:14‐cv‐293‐WSD, 2014 WL 66014383,
at *4‐5 (N.D. Ga. Nov. 20, 2014) (finding the first prong is satisfied under Rule 54(b) where the
Court enters default judgment against Defendant); see also See Brandt v. Bassett (In re Se. Banking
Corp.), 69 F.3d 1539, 1547 (11th Cir.1995) (A judgment is final if “the judgment disposes entirely
of a separable claim or dismisses a party entirely.”).
7 First Citizen Bank and Trust Co., Inc., No. 1:14‐cv‐293‐WSD, 2014 WL 66014383, at *5.
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will be on the merits. Joseph and Kristine Cunningham’s liability, in their individual
capacities, is based on separate and distinguishable claims from Defendant Jo‐Jen, Inc.’s.
Therefore, the Eleventh Circuit will not have to decide the same issues more than once.
Additionally, Plaintiff has informed the Court it will file a voluntary dismissal without
prejudice of its claims against Joseph and Kristine Cunningham. Thus, there should be
no issue of piecemeal appeals. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Final
Judgment against Defendant Jo‐Jen, Inc. [Doc. 12] is GRANTED.
SO ORDERED this 15th day of July, 2016.
S/ C. Ashley Royal
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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