Mackey v. Archithority United L. L. C.
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:19-cv-02847
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 3
In Mackey v. Archithority, Judge Tostrud granted default judgment for $12,536.56 and denied the defendant’s motion to set aside judgment.
The plaintiffs—trustees and labor-related funds—received a default judgment against Archithority United L.L.C. for $12,536.56. The defendant was ordered to pay that amount.
What happened
In Mackey v. Archithority United L.L.C., the plaintiffs sought a default judgment after serving the defendant with the summons and complaint. The defendant did not file a proper response or otherwise defend, and the clerk entered its default.
The plaintiffs requested $12,536.56 for unpaid fringe-benefit contributions, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. A person identified as the defendant’s manager filed a motion to set aside the judgment and appeared at the hearing, but the court said that did not count as an appearance by the company because a corporation cannot represent itself without a lawyer.
Judge Tostrud granted the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment, ordered the defendant to pay $12,536.56, and denied the motion to set aside judgment.
The detailed version
- Mackey v. Archithority United L. L. C. · No. 0:19-cv-02847
- Eric Tostrud
- July 13, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs moved for entry of default judgment. They had previously filed a default-judgment motion, withdrew it, and later renewed it. The summons and complaint were served on Archithority United L.L.C. The company failed to plead or otherwise defend, and the clerk entered its default on January 2, 2020.
After the first motion was withdrawn, Elena Kotowski, identified in the order as the defendant’s “manager,” filed a pleading titled “Motion to Set Aside Judgment.” She requested a meeting with the plaintiffs’ counsel and stated that the defendant believed an agreement might be reached. Kotowski also appeared at the hearing on the renewed default-judgment motion.
Court’s Analysis
The court concluded that Kotowski’s filing and appearance did not qualify as an appearance by the defendant. The court relied on the rule that a corporation cannot proceed without a lawyer. The court also found that the plaintiffs’ moving papers sufficiently documented their entitlement to the relief they requested.
Ruling
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for entry of judgment. It ordered the defendant to pay a total of $12,536.56, consisting of $7,907.26 in delinquent fringe-benefit contributions for March 1, 2019, through September 30, 2019; $790.73 in liquidated damages; $580.67 in interest; $2,770.00 in attorneys’ fees; and $487.90 in costs. The court denied the motion to set aside judgment and directed that judgment be entered.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.