ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY v. CMS LOGISTICS, INC.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY ZURICH AM. INS. CO., Plaintiff, No. 24¢v5793 (EP) (MAH) MEMORANDOM ORDER CMS LOGISTICS, INC., Defendant. Pending before the Court is a motion for default judgment under Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure submitted by Plaintiff Zurich American Insurance Company against Defendant CMS Logistics, Inc. D.E. 9 (‘Motion’). Because Plaintiff moved for default judgment without first requesting an entry of default, the Court will DENY Plaintiff's Motion without prejudice. A Court may enter a default judgment against a properly served defendant who fails to appear or respond. Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2). However, before a court enters default judgment, the movant must meet certain procedural and substantive requirements. “First, a party requests an entry of default, and the Clerk makes a judgment... following the Clerk’s entry of default, the party must submit a motion for default judgment to the Court.” Jnt’] Union of Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 711 Health & Welfare, Vacation & Finishing Trades Inst. Funds v. Vill. Glass, Inc., No. 11-1023, 2012 WL 209076 , at *1 (D.N.J. 2012) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2)). In other words, “/p/rior to obtaining a default judgment under either Rule 55(b)(1) or Rule 55(b)(2), there must be an entry of default as provided by Rule 55(a).” Husain v. Casino Control Comm’n, 265 F. App’x 130, 133 (3d Cir. 2008) (emphasis added). Courts have routinely denied motions for default judgment where movants failed to follow this procedure. See, e.g., Limehouse v. Delaware, 144 F. App’x 921, 923 (3d Cir. 2005) (“[T]he District Court properly denied the motion [for default judgment] because [plaintiff] failed to obtain entry of default prior to seeking a default judgment.”); see also Int’l Union of Painters, 2012 WL 209076 , at *1 (collecting cases). Such is the case here. A review of the docket confirms that Plaintiff failed to request a Clerk’s Entry of Default. IT IS, therefore, on this 8 day of April 2025, ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for default judgment is DENIED without prejudice; and it is further ORDERED that Plaintiff may refile its Motion, D.E. 9, following a request and entry of the Clerk’s Entry of Default. Suda Tad ‘Evelyn Padin, U.S.D.J.