BMO Harris Bank, N.A. v. Greenway Transport, Inc. ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BMO HARRIS BANK, N.A., No. 2:19-cv-02436-KJM-JDP 12 Plaintiff, ORDER VACATING THE CLERK’S ENTRY OF DEFAULT AND DENYING 13 v. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHOUT PREJUDICE 14 GREENWAY TRANSPORT, INC., et al., ECF Nos. 19, 20 15 Defendants. 16 17 This case is before the court on plaintiff’s motion for default judgment against defendants 18 Greenway Transport, Inc. and Ajaypal Dhaliwal. ECF No. 20.1 On October 7, 2021, the court 19 heard plaintiff’s motion and discussed whether defendants were properly served with a copy of 20 the summons and complaint. As discussed at the hearing, plaintiff has not established proper 21 service. See ECF Nos. 14, 15. Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion for default judgment is denied 22 without prejudice to renewal, and the entry of defendants’ default is vacated. See Hale v. 23 Evidencia Display, 2015 WL 4624881, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2015) (“Entry of default must be 24 set aside if the defendant was not served properly.”); see also Direct Mail Specialist, Inc. v. Eclat 25 Computerized Techs., Inc., 840 F.2d 685, 688 (9th Cir. 1988) (“A federal court does not have 26 jurisdiction over a defendant unless the defendant has been served properly under Fed. R. Civ. P. 27 1 This matter was referred to me under Eastern District of California Local Rule 28 302(c)(19) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 1} 4.”). 2 The denial of plaintiff's motion is without prejudice to renewal upon properly serving 3 | defendants, their failure to timely respond to the complaint in accordance with the Federal Rules 4 | of Civil Procedure, and the Clerk’s entry of its default. 5 Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that: 6 1. The Clerk’s June 1, 2021 entry of defendants’ default is vacated. ECF No. 19. 7 2. Plaintiffs motion for default judgment is denied without prejudice. ECF No. 20. 8 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 ( 1 Ow — Dated: _ October 7, 2021 Q_—— 11 JEREMY D. PETERSON Db UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28