Mitchell v. CNO Financial Group Inc, et al

Filing 30

ORDER by Magistrate Judge William P. Lynch denying as moot 12 Motion for Jury Trial; denying 13 Motion for Default Judgment. (mej)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
TEDDY RANDALL MITCHELL,
Plaintiff,
v.

CV 16-1072 WPL/KK

CNO FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
d/b/a Bankers Life and Casualty, and
JEFFREY A. HAKES,
Defendants.

ORDER
Plaintiff Teddy Mitchell filed a motion for jury trial (Doc. 12) and a motion for default
judgment (Doc. 13). Both motions are denied. Mitchell demanded a jury on page 34 of his
Complaint (Doc. 1), rendering his motion for a jury moot. Mitchell’s motion for jury trial (Doc.
12) is therefore denied as moot. Additionally, Mitchell seeks entry of default judgment against
Defendant Hakes (Doc. 13), but never sought a clerk’s entry of default pursuant to Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 55(a), which is a prerequisite for default judgment under Rule 55(b). Garrett
v. Seymour, 217 F. App’x 835, 838 (10th Cir. 2007) (unpublished). Furthermore, Hakes filed an
Answer on October 26, 2016 (Doc. 9)—approximately 26 days after he was served with the
original summons (Doc. 7) and at the appropriate time after he was served with the amended
summons (Doc. 8). The motion for default judgment (Doc. 13) is likewise denied.
It is so ordered.

____________________________
William P. Lynch
United States Magistrate Judge