Mercer Medical LLC v. LD Enterprises LLC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE MERCER MEDICAL LLC, NO. 2:23-cv-00554-RSL 9 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S 10 vs. MOTION FOR DEFAULT 11 JUDGMENT LD ENTERPRISES LLC, Defendant.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment. Defendant was served, (Dkt. # 7), but has not appeared, and the Clerk has entered default (Dkt. # 10).

“When entry of judgment is sought against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, a district court has an affirmative duty to look into its jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties.” In re Tuli, 172 F.3d 707, 712 (9th Cir. 1999). Plaintiff presents evidence that the parties are diverse, the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, and the exercise of personal jurisdiction over defendant is proper.

“At the default judgment stage, the court presumes all well-pleaded factual allegations related to liability are true.” Curtis v. Illumination Arts, Inc., 33 F. Supp. 3d 1200, 1211 (W.D. 23 Wash. 2014); see TeleVideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915, 917–18 (9th Cir. 1987).

However, factual allegations relating to damages are not taken as true. Curtis, 33 F. Supp. 3d at 25 1211. A “plaintiff is required to prove all damages sought in the complaint, and the court must ensure that the amount of damages is reasonable and demonstrated by the evidence.” Id. Plaintiff presents evidence supporting damages of $307,812.50.

3 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that: 4 (1) Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment is GRANTED; 5 (2) Plaintiff is awarded $307,812.50 in damages and prejudgment interest from 6 November 27, 2022, at the rate of 12% per annum, or $101.19 per diem; 7 (3) Plaintiff is awarded $482.00 in costs incurred in the proceeding; 8 (4) Post-judgment interest will accrue in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1961.

Dated this 5th day of July, 2023.

13 ROBERT S. LASNIK UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE