Raybin I. Jones v. Vital & FHR North America, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION

Raybin I. Jones, Case No. 3:24-cv-1612 Plaintiff, v. ORDER

Vital & FHR North America, LLC, Defendant.

Plaintiff Raybin I. Jones filed a second motion for entry of default judgment, asserting “Defendant failed to respond” and seeking damages in the amount of $350,000. (Doc. No. 17). As I previously stated, before he may file a motion for a default judgment, Jones “must first obtain an entry of default from the clerk by showing ‘by affidavit or otherwise’ that the ‘party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend.’” (Doc. No. 12 at 1) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a)). Jones has not done so and, therefore, he is not entitled to the relief he seeks.

Moreover, even Jones had properly applied for an entry of default, his motion again is substantively deficient. As I previously stated, “a plaintiff seeking default judgment must at least identify allegations in the complaint that sufficiently state a claim for relief and offer some development of legal arguments in support of default judgment.” (Doc. No. 12 at 2, n.2) (citing Grover v. BMW of N. Am., LLC, 581 F. Supp. 3d 930, 950 (N.D. Ohio 2022)). Jones’s motion for default judgment does not reference any allegations from his complaint, and it does not include any legal argument in support of his assertion that he is entitled to a default judgment on the claims he has pled.

For these reasons, I deny Jones’s motion for entry of default judgment. (Doc. No. 17). I also deny his motion for a jury trial. (Doc. No. 18). Jones did not include a demand for a jury trial in his complaint, and he has not demonstrated he properly made a demand for a jury trial as set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38.

So Ordered.

s/ Jeffrey J. Helmick United States District Judge