Financial Services Vehicle Trust v. Ionov

Filing 15

ORDER that Plaintiff shall file supplemental papers explaining why the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant by 12/10/2013 re 12 Motion for Default Judgment. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 11/25/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - AC)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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FINANCIAL SERVICES VEHICLE TRUST, et al.,)
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Plaintiff(s),
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v.
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ADIR IONOV,
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Defendant(s).
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Case No. 2:12-cv-01577-GMN-NJK
ORDER REGARDING PERSONAL
JURISDICTION

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for entry of default judgment. Docket No. 12.

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The Court’s personal jurisdiction over a defendant is generally a waivable defense that the Court

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does not raise sua sponte. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(1). Nonetheless, “[w]hen entry of default

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judgment is sought against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, a district court has an

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affirmative duty to look into its jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties.” Tuli v.

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Republic of Iraq, 172 F.3d 707, 712 (9th Cir. 1999). Thus, after giving the plaintiff notice and an

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opportunity to assert jurisdictional facts, the Court may dismiss an action for lack of personal

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jurisdiction. See id. at 712-13.

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In this case, Plaintiff alleges on “information and belief” that Defendant is a resident of Las

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Vegas, Nevada. See Compl. at ¶ 3. Based on the record before the Court, it appears that the relevant

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transactions related to the lease of the vehicle occurred in California. See Docket No. 13, Exh. 2

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(listing lessor as McKenna BMW located in Norwalk, California). Moreover, it appears that

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Defendant sold his Las Vegas residence at roughly the same time he leased the vehicle. See Docket

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No. 6, Exh. 1 (affidavit of diligence appearing to show that Defendant sold his property on or about

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October 29, 2009 to Jia Chi Xu). In short, it is not clear whether the record before the Court

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sufficiently demonstrates the Court’s personal jurisdiction over Defendant.

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Accordingly, no later than December 10, 2013, Plaintiff shall file supplemental papers
explaining why the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: November 25, 2013

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______________________________________
Nancy J. Koppe
United States Magistrate Judge

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