AT&T Corporation v. Interstate Holdings

Background

The Clerk of Court had entered default against Interstate Holdings, LLC dba Concord Hilton. The court issued a notice concerning any motion for default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2). The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.

Procedures Required for a Default-Judgment Motion

The court required any motion for default judgment to be filed no later than 45 days after the Clerk’s entry of default. Requests for more time must comply with Civil Local Rule 6-3. The motion must also comply with Civil Local Rule 7 and follow the structure in Attachment A.

If no opposition is filed by the deadline under Rule 7, the moving party must instead file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law by the reply deadline. The moving party must also email those proposed findings in Microsoft Word format to the court’s listed email address. The court stated that no chambers copies were required.

Required Legal and Evidentiary Showing

Attachment A instructs the moving party to address subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and service of process. For an out-of-state defendant, the filing must include a minimum-contacts analysis under the cited Ninth Circuit authority. The filing must also establish that service complied with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4.

The proposed filing must separately analyze each factor identified in Eitel v. McCool, including the possible prejudice to the plaintiff, the merits of the claims, the sufficiency of the complaint, the amount at stake, possible disputes concerning material facts, whether the default resulted from excusable neglect, and the federal rules’ preference for decisions on the merits.

The court further required legal authority and supporting evidence for requested damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. Damages allegations in the complaint are not automatically accepted as true. Any attorney-fee request must include support for the hours worked and billing rates, evidence concerning prevailing community rates, and evidence that the hours were reasonable.

Disposition

The court did not grant or deny a default-judgment motion and did not enter a default judgment. It ordered AT&T to serve the notice on all other parties and file proof of service. The order was signed by J.C. Ros, identified in the opinion as a United States Magistrate Judge. The judge’s name is not fully clear in the supplied text.