Onward Holding v. Prime Capital Ventures et al

Filing 16

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER: The court GRANTS Plaintiff's Amended Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 15 ). The court will enter a judgment against Mr. Roglieri in the amount of $3,000,000.00. Interest shall accrue on this Judgment as provided in 28 U.S.C. § 1961. Plaintiff's original Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 13 ) is DENIED as moot. Signed by Judge Jill N. Parrish on 2/2/24. (dle)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH
ONWARD HOLDINGS, LLC,
Plaintiff,

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER GRANTING AMENDED
MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT

v.
PRIME CAPITAL VENTURES, LLC, and
KRIS ROGLIERI,
Defendant.

Case No. 2:23-CV-00833-JNP-JCB
District Judge Jill N. Parrish
Magistrate Judge Jared C. Bennett

In September 2022, Plaintiff Onward Holdings, LLC (“Onward”) transferred $13.8
million to Defendant Prime Capital Ventures, LLC (“Prime”) in exchange for Prime’s agreement
to fund a business expansion line of credit in the amount of $107 million. Defendant Kris
Roglieri (“Mr. Roglieri”), Prime’s sole member, misrepresented both Prime’s ability to fund the
line of credit and how Prime would deposit and use Onward’s funds. The line of credit
agreement was terminated after Prime failed to make its first advance. As a result, Prime
incurred a $10 million liability to Onward. Prime partially repaid this obligation through two
transfers but left $4 million unrepaid.
On November 13, 2023, Onward filed its Complaint against Prime and Mr. Roglieri to
recover the remaining $4 million that it was owed. ECF No. 2. The following day, Prime repaid
an additional $1 million of its debt to Onward, reducing its liability to $3 million. Defendants
thereafter failed to answer the Complaint. The court entered a default against both Defendants on
December 26, 2023, and Onward subsequently filed a motion for the entry of default judgment
against Mr. Roglieri in the amount of $3 million, alleging that Prime was Mr. Roglieri’s alter
ego. ECF No. 13. On January 18, 2024, Onward filed an amended motion for default judgment,

submitting that there is no just reason for delay in the entry of a final judgment against Mr.
Roglieri despite the recent filing of an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Prime in the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York. ECF No. 15.
In evaluating a motion for default judgment, the court accepts the Complaint’s well-pled
factual allegations as true. Equal Emp. Opportunity Comm'n v. Roark-Whitten Hosp. 2, LP, 28
F.4th 136, 157 (10th Cir. 2022). “[E]ntry of a default judgment is committed to the sound
discretion of the district court . . . .” Tripodi v. Welch, 810 F.3d 761, 764 (10th Cir. 2016);
accord 10A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2685
(4th ed. 2022) ("[T]he district judge is required to exercise sound judicial discretion in
determining whether [a default] judgment should be entered.").
The well-pled facts in the Complaint (ECF No. 2) establish that Prime is liable for
breaching its obligation to pay Onward $10 million, of which it still owes $3 million. The
Complaint also asserts an alter ego claim for this liability against Mr. Roglieri. Thus, due to their
default, Defendants Prime and Roglieri are jointly liable to Onward for $3 million.
For the foregoing reasons, the court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Amended Motion for Default
Judgment (ECF No. 15). The court will enter a judgment against Mr. Roglieri in the amount of
$3,000,000.00. Interest shall accrue on this Judgment as provided in 28 U.S.C. § 1961. Plaintiff’s
original Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 13) is DENIED as moot.
Signed February 2, 2024
BY THE COURT

______________________________
Jill N. Parrish
United States District Court Judge

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