The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
TOKIO MARINE AMERICA INSURANCE
COMPANY
a/s/o ITOCHU LOGISTICS (USA)
CORPORATION,
Civil No.: 17-cv-7491 (KSH) (CLW)
Plaintiff,
v.
JAN PACKAGING, MCCOLLISTER’S
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, INC.,
BALA TRANSPORT CORP., KING
TRANSPORT LLC, NOLAN
TRANSPORTATION GROUP, LLC,
COURIER SYSTEMS,
Defendants,
-AND-
JAN PACKAGING,
ORD ER
Defendant-Third Party
Plaintiff,
v.
NOLAN TRANSPORTATION GROUP,
MCCOLLISTER’S TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEMS, INC., AND MASTHEAD
INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Third-Party Defendants.
WHEREAS plaintiff Tokio Marine America Insurance Company a/s/o Itochu
Logistics (USA) Corporation (“plaintiff”) has moved for default judgment against
defendant Bala Transport Corp. (“Bala”) (D.E. 51); and
WHEREAS default was entered against Bala on January 26, 2018 (D.E. 31); and
WHEREAS “if default is entered against some defendants in a multi-defendant
case, the preferred practice is for the court to withhold granting default judgment until the
action is resolved on its merits against non-defaulting defendants,” Animal Sci. Prods. v.
China Nat’l Metals & Minerals Imp. & Exp. Corp., 596 F. Supp. 2d 842, 849 (D.N.J.
2008) (Brown, J.); see also FTC v. Preferred Platinum Services Network, LLC, 2010 WL
3883403, at *2 (D.N.J. Sept. 28, 2010) (Cooper, J.), and
WHEREAS this action involves multiple defendants in addition to Bala, as well
as a third-party complaint and various crossclaims, including crossclaims against Bala
(D.E. 26, 63, 77), and
WHEREAS, entering default judgment against Bala under the circumstances
would be premature,
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS, on this 3rd day of March, 2020,
ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for default judgment (D.E. 51) is DENIED
WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
/s/ Katharine S. Hayden
Katharine S. Hayden, U.S.D.J.