Ward v. CM Securities LLC

Filing 27

ORDER that 26 Motion for Default Judgment is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 6/2/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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BRENDA Y. WARD,
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Plaintiff(s),
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v.
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CM SECURITIES, LLC,
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Defendant(s).
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Case No. 2:13-cv-02208-GMN-NJK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
DEFAULT JUDGMENT
(Docket No. 26)

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for entry of default judgment. Docket No. 26.

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In this case, a default was entered on April 2, 2015. Docket No. 25. Once default has been entered, the

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plaintiff may apply to the Court for entry of default judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 55(b)(2). The choice whether a default judgment should be entered is at the sole discretion

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of the district court. See Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980).

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A defendant’s default alone does not entitle a plaintiff to a court-ordered judgment. See id.

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Instead, the Ninth Circuit has determined that a court should look at seven discretionary factors before

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rendering a decision on default judgment. See Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470,1471-72 (9th Cir. 1986).

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These factors are: (1) the possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff; (2) the merits of plaintiff's substantive

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claim; (3) the sufficiency of the complaint; (4) the sum of money at stake in the action; (5) the possibility

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of a dispute concerning material facts; (6) whether the default was due to excusable neglect; and (7) the

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strong policy underlying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favoring decisions on the merits. Id. In

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applying these Eitel factors, “the factual allegations of the complaint, except those relating to the amount

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of damages, will be taken as true.” Geddes v. United Fin. Group, 559 F.2d 557, 560 (9th Cir. 1977);

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Televideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915, 917-18 (9th Cir. 1987). Plaintiff’s pending motion fails

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to address the Eitel factors.

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Accordingly, the motion for entry of default judgment is DENIED without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: June 2, 2015

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______________________________________
Nancy J. Koppe
United States Magistrate Judge

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