(PS) Smith v. Brewer ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DEAN T. SMITH, No. 2:19-cv-1918 TLN DB 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 DENNIS BREWER, an individual domiciled in New Jersey; WINNETT 15 PERICO, INC., a Colorado corporation, d.b.a. WINNETTORGANICS; 16 WINNETTORGANICS, a business entity of unknown type; WINNETTORGANICS 17 CATTLE COMPANY, INC., a Colorado corporation; WINNETT CATTLE 18 COMPANY, INC. a Colorado corporation, 19 Defendants. 20 21 On May 8, 2019, plaintiff filed a motion for default judgment. (ECF No. 12.) Plaintiff’s 22 motion is noticed for hearing before the undersigned on June 12, 2020, pursuant to Local Rule 23 302(c)(19). Plaintiff’s motion notes that service of the motion on the defaulting defendants is not 24 required pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules. (Pl.’s MDJ (ECF 25 No. 12) at 4.) And the motion for default judgment does not include proof of service. 26 It is true that service of a motion for default judgement on a defaulting party is not 27 required. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2) (requiring that written notice of an application for default 28 judgment be served upon the party against whom judgment is sought only if that party “has wOAOe 2.4 VV VEY LOU PRINS MVVUTEOCTI LO POO Ore ove 1 | appeared in the action”); Local Rule 135(d) (excusing parties from serving documents submitted 2 | to the court upon “parties held in default for failure to appear” unless a document asserts new or 3 | additional claims for relief against the defaulting parties). 4 However, it is also true that a defendant’s “appearance need not necessarily be a formal 5 || one, Le., one involving a submission or presentation to the court. In limited situations, informal 6 || contacts between the parties have sufficed when the party in default has thereby demonstrated a 7 | clear purpose to defend the suit.” Wilson v. Moore & Associates, Inc., 564 F.2d 366, 369 (9th 8 | Cir. 1977). 9 Accordingly, out of an abundance of caution, it is the undersigned’s practice to request 10 | that a plaintiff seeking default judgment serve all defendants with notice of a motion for default 11 || judgment. 12 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 13 1. The June 12, 2020 hearing of plaintiff's motion for default judgment (ECF No. 12) is 14 | continued to July 31, 2020; 15 2. On or before July 3, 2020, plaintiff shall serve a copy of the motion for default 16 || judgment, and a copy of this order, on each defendant; and 17 3. On or before July 17, 2020, plaintiff shall file proof of such service. 18 | Dated: June 8, 2020 20 1 ORAH BARNES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ 27 28