Diamond Tucker St. Property, LLC v. Watson

Background

Diamond Tucker St. Property, LLC (DTS), through its attorney, submitted a letter motion asking the court to strike the defendants’ motion to dismiss, docketed as ECF No. 24. The letter stated that the Clerk had issued a certificate of default on June 30, 2025. DTS argued that the defendants had filed or pursued their motion to dismiss without first moving under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c) to set aside the default.

Arguments in the Letter Motion

DTS argued that the defendants’ continued default made their motion to dismiss untenable. It also asserted that the defendants had not addressed the three factors courts consider when deciding whether to set aside an entry of default: whether the default was willful, whether the defendant has a potentially valid defense, and whether setting aside the default would prejudice the non-defaulting party. The letter said DTS had previously raised this issue and that the defendants had not filed a separate motion addressing it.

Ruling

Judge Jesse M. Furman denied the application. The court stated that the denial was without prejudice to DTS raising these arguments in opposition to the motion to dismiss in the normal course. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate ECF No. 28. The order did not decide the merits of the defendants’ motion to dismiss.