McGee v. The City of Hercules
- Thomas Hixson
- 3:23-cv-05161
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In McGee v. The City of Hercules, Judge Hixson denied Anthony McGee’s default-judgment motion because no default had been entered.
Anthony McGee’s motion for default judgment was denied; the order states that default had not been entered against the defendants.
What happened
In McGee v. The City of Hercules, Anthony McGee asked the court for a default judgment under Rule 55(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The court explained that obtaining a default judgment requires two steps: first, obtaining the clerk’s entry of default; and second, asking the court to enter judgment. The opinion states that default had not been entered against the defendants.
Judge Thomas S. Hixson ruled that McGee’s motion was improperly before the court and denied it. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- McGee v. The City of Hercules · No. 3:23-cv-05161
- Thomas Hixson
- Sept. 18, 2025
Background
On September 17, 2025, Plaintiff Anthony McGee filed a motion for default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b). The defendants are identified in the caption as The City of Hercules, et al.
Rule 55 Process
The court explained that Rule 55 requires a two-step process. A party must first obtain the clerk’s entry of default against a defendant. The party may then file a motion asking the court to enter a default judgment. Courts regularly deny a default-judgment motion when the clerk has not previously entered default.
Ruling
The court stated that default had not been entered against the defendants. It therefore held that McGee’s motion was improperly before the court and denied the motion for default judgment. The opinion does not address the merits of the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.