Wahlhuetter v. CollegeHumor.com, LLC

Background

The court had entered a default judgment against CollegeHumor.com, LLC on May 29, 2019. A default judgment is a judgment entered when a defendant does not defend the case. The court referred Wahlhuetter’s request for damages and costs to Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses for a post-judgment review of the amount owed.

On November 29, 2021, Magistrate Judge Moses issued a Report and Recommendation advising that the default judgment be vacated and that the claims be dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction is the court’s authority to exercise power over a defendant. Wahlhuetter objected to the recommendation that the case be dismissed without prejudice, but acknowledged that the Complaint had a pleading deficiency concerning jurisdiction. CollegeHumor.com, LLC did not timely object to the Report and Recommendation.

Court’s analysis

The District Court explained that a party’s specific objection to a magistrate judge’s recommendation receives fresh review. General or conclusory objections are reviewed only for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake apparent from the record.

The court found no clear error in vacating the default judgment for lack of personal jurisdiction. No objection had been filed to that recommendation. The court also found no clear error in dismissing the claims without prejudice. Wahlhuetter did not argue that dismissal itself was erroneous or object to the findings supporting dismissal. Instead, he asked for leave to amend rather than dismissal, partly to avoid a possible issue involving the three-year statute of limitations. The court stated that it took no position on whether the deficient pleading had paused or extended that limitations period.

The court declined to treat Wahlhuetter’s objection as a motion for leave to amend. It also found no basis to transfer the case because there had been no ruling on whether amendment would be futile.

Disposition

The court adopted the Report and Recommendation in full. It vacated the May 29, 2019, default judgment and dismissed Wahlhuetter’s claims without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction. The order allowed Wahlhuetter, if he wanted to seek permission to amend, to file a letter explaining how the deficiencies would be cured and a proposed amended complaint showing the changes by January 14, 2022.