From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Williams v. R. MacK

United States District Court, Ninth Circuit, California, N.D. California
Jun 2, 2015
C 13-4820 RMW (PR) (N.D. Cal. Jun. 2, 2015)

Opinion


JAMES E. WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, v. R. MACK, Defendant. No. C 13-4820 RMW (PR) United States District Court, N.D. California. June 2, 2015

          ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT (Docket No. 19)

          RONALD M. WHYTE, District Judge.

         Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On February 18, 2014, the court ordered service of plaintiff's civil rights complaint upon defendant. (Docket No. 6.) A notice of lawsuit and request for waiver of service of summons was mailed to the defendant at Salinas Valley State Prison ("SVSP'). On March 3, 2014, service documents sent to defendant at SVSP, were returned as undeliverable. (Docket No. 9.) In the interest of justice, the court requested that the SVSP Litigation Coordinator provide to the court the current employment status for defendant and any available forwarding addresses, or notice that such information is not available. (Docket No. 13.) On August 27, 2014, SVSP Litigation Coordinator K. McKelroy filed a notice with the court indicating that the institution had been "in recent contact with R. Mack" and that the summons and complaint should be resent to the institution. (Docket No. 14.) Given this information, the court directed the clerk of the court to serve defendant R. Mack at SVSP. (Docket No. 15.) Defendant filed an executed waiver of service on January 26, 2015. (Docket No. 20.)

         On January 15, 2015, plaintiff filed a "motion to the court demanding that the Defendant file a disposition motion or face default." (Docket No. 19.) Rule 55(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that the clerk of the court enter default "when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defense, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise." Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(a). Rule 55(b)(2) provides that the court may grant a default judgment after default has been entered by the clerk of the court. Default judgments are generally disfavored, and "[c]ases should be decided upon their merits whenever reasonably possible." Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1472 (9th Cir. 1986).

         Given the facts as stated above, defendant had not been served at the time plaintiff filed his motion requesting default. Defendant has now filed an executed waiver of service, clearly demonstrating his intent to defend against plaintiff's claims. Accordingly, plaintiff's motion is DENIED.

         This order terminates docket number 19.

         IT IS SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

Williams v. R. MacK

United States District Court, Ninth Circuit, California, N.D. California
Jun 2, 2015
C 13-4820 RMW (PR) (N.D. Cal. Jun. 2, 2015)
Case details for

Williams v. R. MacK

Case Details

Full title:JAMES E. WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, v. R. MACK, Defendant.

Court:United States District Court, Ninth Circuit, California, N.D. California

Date published: Jun 2, 2015

Citations

C 13-4820 RMW (PR) (N.D. Cal. Jun. 2, 2015)