Joseph v. Doucet

Filing 35

ORDER granting 33 Motion to Set Aside Default. Signed by Magistrate Judge Patrick J Hanna on 6/14/2019. (crt,Putch, A)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
LAFAYETTE DIVISION
MARIA JOSEPH

CASE NO. 6:17-CV-01468

VERSUS

JUDGE SUMMERHAYS

RONALD DOUCET ET AL

MAGISTRATE JUDGE HANNA

ORDER
Before the Court is the Motion to Set Aside Default filed by Arthur Phillips,
pro se Defendant. (Rec. Doc. 33). No oppositions have been filed. For the following
reasons, the Motion is GRANTED, and the default entered against Arthur Phillips is
hereby set aside.
Plaintiff filed suit on November 7, 2017 against Ronald Doucet, individually
and in his capacity as Ville Platte City Marshal arising out of an alleged incident on
May 5, 2017 involving Arthur Phillips, a deputy with the Ville Platte Marshal’s
office. (Rec. Doc. 1). Plaintiff amended the Complaint on January 22, 2018 to name
Arthur Phillips as a defendant. (Rec Doc. 9). Plaintiff effected service upon Arthur
Phillips on June 18, 2018. (Rec. Doc. 14). After a series of procedural deficiencies,
Plaintiff moved for default against Phillips on April 29, 2019. (Rec. Doc. 31). The
Clerk entered default on the same day (Rec. Doc. 32). Arthur Phillips filed a Motion
to Set Aside Default on May 7, 2019. (Rec. Doc. 33).

F.R.C.P. Rule 55 governs default judgments and states that the court may set
aside an entry of default for good cause. Rule 55(c). The Fifth Circuit set forth the
general standard applicable to setting aside the entry of default as follows:
[F]ederal courts should not be agnostic with respect to the entry of
default judgments, which are “generally disfavored in the law” and thus
“should not be granted on the claim, without more, that the defendant
had failed to meet a procedural time requirement.” Thus, “where there
are no intervening equities any doubt should, as a general proposition,
be resolved in favor of the movant to the end of securing a trial upon
the merits.”
To determine whether good cause to set aside a default exists—a
“decision necessarily ... informed by equitable principles”—“we have
found it useful to consider three factors ... [:] whether the default was
willful, whether setting it aside would prejudice the adversary, and
whether a meritorious defense is presented.” Other factors may also be
considered, including whether “the defendant acted expeditiously to
correct the default.”
Lacy v. Sitel Corp., 227 F.3d 290, 292 (5th Cir. 2000) (Citations omitted.)
Mr. Phillips, who is not represented by counsel, filed his Motion to Set Aside
Default setting forth in great detail his version of the incident. Although he did not
precisely explain the grounds for failing to timely respond to the lawsuit, the Court
finds that good cause exists for setting aside the entry of default and allowing the
matter to proceed on the merits. Mr. Phillips appears to set forth an arguably
meritorious defense. Further, Mr. Phillips filed his Motion within one week of the
entry of default. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the entry of default against Arthur Phillips be set aside.

Signed at Lafayette, Louisiana on this 14th day of June, 2019.

____________________________________
PATRICK J. HANNA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE