G & G Closed Circuit Events, LLC v. Oscar Dorado Aguilar ( 2024 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 G & G CLOSED CIRCUIT EVENTS, LLC, Case No.: 1:20-cv-01745 JLT BAM 12 Plaintiff, ORDER STRIKING OSCAR DORADO AGUILAR’S ANSWER; DIRECTING THE CLERK 13 v. OF COURT TO ENTER DEFAULT AGAINST OSCAR DORADO AGUILAR; AND VACATING 14 OSCAR DORADO AGUILAR, JURY TRIAL 15 Defendant. (Doc. 15) 16 17 On December 9, 2020, Plaintiff G & G Closed Circuit Events, LLC filed a complaint alleging 18 the unauthorized interception, conversion, and transmission of Plaintiff’s television program. (Doc. 19 1.) Defendant Oscar Dorado Aguilar answered the complaint on March 15, 2021. (Doc. 15.) On 20 December 5, 2022, Plaintiff and Defendant appeared at a scheduling conference on this matter, and 21 pretrial and trial dates were set. (Docs. 37, 38.) Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment that 22 was subsequently denied. (Docs. 39, 43.) On May 22, 2024, the Court ordered the parties file a joint 23 pretrial statement which complied with the requirements of the Court’s Local Rule 281. (Doc. 68.) 24 On August 26, 2024, the Court conducted the final pretrial conference and Defendant Oscar Dorado 25 Aguilar failed to appear. Following this conference, on August 27, 2024, the Court issued an order 26 (the “OSC”) directing Defendant to show cause, on or before September 17, 2024, why its answer 27 should not be stricken and a default judgment entered for failure to comply with the pretrial 28 requirements. (Doc. 72.) Defendant has failed to file a response to the OSC, and accordingly, 1 Defendant’s answer will be stricken and a default judgment entered against Defendant. 2 The Court has inherent power to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases by 3 entering judgment against a party for failure to prosecute and the failure to comply with a court order. 4 See Link v. Wabash R.R., 370 U.S. 626, 629–30 (1962); Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). In addition, Federal 5 Rule of Civil Procedure 37 authorizes the Court to strike a party’s pleading or render a default 6 judgment against it when the party fails to comply with a court order. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2); see 7 also Adriana Intern. Corp. v. Theoren, 913 F.2d 1406, 1412 (9th Cir. 1990) (finding violations of 8 court orders sufficient to support a default sanction). Because a default sanction is a harsh penalty, 9 district courts must consider five factors before declaring a default: “(1) the public’s interest in 10 expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice 11 to the other party; (4) the public policy favoring the disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the 12 availability of less drastic sanctions.” Adriana Intern. Corp., 913 F.2d at 1412. 13 The Court finds that the factors militate in favor of striking Defendant’s answer. The public’s 14 interest in expeditious resolution of litigation and the Court’s need to manage its docket weigh heavily 15 in favor of striking Defendant’s answer and entering judgment against him. Further, Defendant 16 violated this Court’s May 22, 2024 Scheduling Order when he failed to file a pretrial conference 17 statement or appear at the pretrial conference. (Doc. 68 (warning the parties that “the failure to file a 18 pretrial statement may result in the imposition of appropriate sanctions, which may include the 19 preclusion of any and all witnesses, dismissal of the action, or entry of default”).) In addition, 20 Defendant failed to show cause in writing why sanctions should not be imposed for that conduct. 21 Defendant is undeniably aware of this action as Defendant, through counsel who has since withdrawn, 22 23 answered Plaintiff’s complaint, filed a motion for summary judgment that was subsequently denied, 24 and has been successfully served with the most recent Orders of this Court. Defendant’s failure to 25 participate in this case is prejudicial to Plaintiff as it precludes Plaintiff from obtaining a decision on 26 the merits. While the public policy favoring disposition of the case on its merits will always cut 27 against entry of default, less drastic sanctions are simply not available. Therefore, the other four 28 factors support striking Defendant’s answer and entering default. | ORDER Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 3 1. The answer filed by Defendant Oscar Dorado Aguilar (Doc. 15) is STRICKEN. ‘ 2. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter DEFAULT against Oscar Dorado Aguilar. ° 3. The jury trial set for 11/5/2024 is VACATED. ° 4. Plaintiff SHALL file a motion for default judgment no later than December 6, 2024. 7 8 |/IT IS SO ORDERED. || Dated: _ October 4, 2024 Cerin | Tower 10 TED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28