Eastman v. State Bar of California

Background

Darren Eastman sued the State Bar of California. Eastman was representing himself. The clerk entered default against the State Bar, and Eastman later moved for default judgment. The State Bar moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c) to set aside the entry of default. The court decided the motion without oral argument and vacated the scheduled hearing.

Arguments and legal standard

Rule 55(c) allows a court to set aside an entry of default for good cause. The court explained that, in the Ninth Circuit, the relevant considerations include whether the default resulted from culpable conduct, whether the defendant has a potentially valid defense, and whether setting aside default would prejudice the plaintiff. This standard is applied more liberally when the court is setting aside an entry of default rather than a final default judgment.

The State Bar argued that it had not been properly served under Rule 4, that it had not acted culpably because it believed service was defective, and that it had a meritorious defense under the Eleventh Amendment. It also argued that Eastman would not be prejudiced by having to litigate the claims. Eastman did not respond to the State Bar’s argument that service was improper.

Ruling

The court held that the State Bar had not been properly served. Because proper service is required for a federal court to exercise jurisdiction over a defendant, the court found no culpable conduct by the State Bar. It therefore granted the State Bar’s motion to set aside default.

The court terminated Eastman’s pending motion for default judgment as moot. It encouraged the parties to meet and confer about correcting the deficient service. The order did not decide the underlying claims.