Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:14-CV-00518; SEC. P
04-08-2016
RICHARD W. BLACK, Plaintiff v. VICTOR JONES, ET AL., Defendants
CHIEF JUDGE DRELL MEMORANDUM ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 133). Plaintiff moves this Court for the entry of default judgment against Defendants on the grounds that Defendants did not file an Answer to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 123).
"Default judgments are a drastic remedy, not favored by the Federal Rules and resorted to by courts only in extreme situations. As the District of Columbia Circuit has stated, they are 'available only when the adversary process has been halted because of an essentially unresponsive party.'" Sun Bank of Ocala v. Pelican Homestead & Savings Ass'n, 874 F.2d 274, 276 (5th Cir. 1989).
Defendants have been responsive throughout the course of this case. Both Plaintiff and Defendants have filed and responded to motions and to orders of this Court. Furthermore, Defendants filed their own Motion for Summary Judgment on November 13, 2015 (Doc. 92). Therefore, entry of default judgment is not appropriate in this case.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 133) is DENIED.
THUS DONE AND SIGNED in chambers in Alexandria, Louisiana, this 8 day of April, 2016.
/s/_________
Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes
United States Magistrate Judge