noting Rule 55’s “two-step process of ‘Entering a Default’ and 20 ‘Entering a Default Judgment’”
How later courts described this case
- noting Rule 55’s “two-step process of ‘Entering a Default’ and 20 ‘Entering a Default Judgment’”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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7 ALI POORSINA, Case No. 20-cv-09122-AGT
8 Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
9 v. DEFAULT JUDGMENT
10 TAN TSENG, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 19
Defendants.
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13 Before the Court is pro se plaintiff Ali Poorsina’s motion for default judgment against all
14 defendants. Dkt. 19. The motion is denied as procedurally improper.
15 Obtaining a default judgment in federal court involves a two-step process: (1) seeking a
16 clerk’s entry of default under Rule 55(a), and (2) filing a motion for entry of default judgment
17 under Rule 55(b). Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a), (b); Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1471 (9th Cir. 1986)
18 (recognizing “two-step process required by Rule 55”); Symantec Corp. v. Glob. Impact, Inc., 559
19 F.3d 922, 923 (9th Cir. 2009) (noting Rule 55’s “two-step process of ‘Entering a Default’ and
20 ‘Entering a Default Judgment’”). When the clerk has not entered default against a defendant, a
21 motion for default judgement against that defendant is improper. Bradford v. Voong, 2017 WL
22 6558586, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 22, 2017) (denying motion for default judgment because the clerk
23 had not entered default and collecting cases doing same).
24 In the pending motion, Poorsina claims that “the Clerk made an entry of default pursuant
25 to Rule 55(a) [] on June 1, 2021.” Dkt. 19 at 1. The docket, however, reveals that Poorsina has
26 not requested or obtained entry of default by the Clerk of Court. Accordingly, his motion for
27 default judgment is not properly before the undersigned and is denied without prejudice.
] Poorsina is encouraged to visit the Court’s website, where he can obtain information and
2 || resources about appearing pro se. See U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., Representing Yourself,
3 https://cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/. Poorsina may also schedule an appointment with the
4 || Legal Help Center by emailing fedpro@sfbar.org, or by calling (415) 782-8982.
5 IT IS SO ORDERED.
6 || Dated: July 8, 2021
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ALEX G. TSE
8 United States Magistrate Judge
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