Opinion
CV 19-136-BLG-SPW-TJC
10-13-2021
ROBERT LYLE GILL, Plaintiff, v. SGT. LEONARD; SGT. GOODYEAR; CAPTAIN BODINE; YELLOWSTONE COUNTY AND YELLOWSTONE SHERIFFS OFFICE; UNKNOWN DIRECTOR AND NURSES OF CORRECTIONS HEALTH PARTNERS, Defendants.
ORDER
TIMOTHY J. CAVAN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Despite the County Defendants' filing of their answers on July 19, Plaintiff Gill moved the Court on August 9, 2021, to enter default judgment.
The motion is not signed. See Mot. for Default Judgment (Doc. 31) at 3; see also Notice of Case Opening (Doc. 3) at 3 (advising plaintiff to sign documents). A party's signature is its expression that it stands behind what it says. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). The signature is especially important in prisoner cases, when other inmates may assist plaintiffs.
Nevertheless, even if Gill had signed the motion, he would not have been entitled to default judgment. First, Gill did not timely move the clerk to enter the County Defendants' default, a prerequisite to default judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a), (b). Further, at the time the motion was filed, the County Defendants had answered, and therefore had not “failed to plead or otherwise defend, ” as required for the entry of default under Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(a).
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff Gill's motion for default judgment (Doc. 31) is DENIED as unsigned.