Fernando Gastelum v. Pinnacle Solana LP
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Anthony J. Battaglia (author)
Analysis
Defendant Pinnacle Solana LP filed a motion to dismiss after the Clerk of Court had already entered a default judgment against it for failing to respond to the complaint within the time allowed by Rule 12(a). The court denied the motion to dismiss without prejudice, ruling that the defendant was precluded from participating in the case until it successfully moved to set aside the default under Rule 55(c).
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Denial of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss“For this reason, the Court DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Pinnacle’s motion to dismiss. (Doc. No. 10.)” | agree with court The court correctly applied the procedural rule that entry of default cuts off a defendant's right to file responsive pleadings or motions, including a motion to dismiss, until the default is set aside. The record establishes that the default was entered on January 13, 2026, and the motion was filed on the same day after the default. Citing *Jellybean Entm’t, Inc. v. Usnile LLC* and *Oliver v. All-Pro Bail Bonds, Inc.*, the court properly determined that the motion was precluded. The denial without prejudice is appropriate because it preserves the defendant's right to seek relief under Rule 55(c). |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies that the defendant failed to respond within the 21-day period mandated by Rule 12(a)(1)(A)(i), leading to the entry of default under Rule 55(a). The court accurately applies the principle that entry of default precludes further participation, including the filing of a motion to dismiss, until the default is set aside under Rule 55(c). The citations to district court cases (*Jellybean*, *Oliver*) and the Ninth Circuit case (*Mesle*) support the conclusion that the motion was filed too late and that the proper remedy is a motion to set aside default. The denial without prejudice is the correct procedural outcome.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 FERNANDO GASTELUM, Case No.: 25-cv-3052-AJB-DDL 12 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO Plaintiff, DISMISS 13 v. 14 (Doc. No. 10) PINNACLE SOLANA LP, 15 16 Defendant. 17 18 Presently before the Court is Defendant Pinnacle Solana LP’s (“Pinnacle”) motion 19 to dismiss the complaint. (Doc. No. 10.) Having reviewed the docket in this case, the Court 20 finds the matter suitable for decision without oral argument pursuant to Local Civil Rule 21 7.1.d.1. The Court DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Pinnacle’s motion. 22 Plaintiff served Pinnacle on November 12, 2025. (Doc. No. 3.) Pursuant to Federal 23 Rule of Civil Procedure 12(a)(1)(A)(i), Pinnacle was required to file a responsive pleading 24 “within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint[.]” In this case, that 25 required Pinnacle to file their motion to dismiss on or before December 3, 2025. Because 26 Pinnacle did not file an answer or otherwise respond by that date, Plaintiff filed a request 27 for entry of default against Pinnacle on January 12, 2026. (Doc. No. 4.) The Clerk of Court 28 entered default the following day, on January 13, 2026. (Doc. No. 6.) 1 Also on January 13, 2026, Pinnacle obtained from the Undersigned’s staff a hearing 2 date for a motion to dismiss and filed said motion after the Clerk entered default. (Doc. No. 3 18.) Pinnacle filed a motion to dismiss later that day. (Doc. No. 8.) On January 15, 2026, 4 the Court struck the motion because an attorney of record did not sign the motion to 5 dismiss. (See Doc. Nos. 8–9.) Later that same day, Pinnacle filed the instant motion to 6 dismiss. (Doc. No. 10.) 7 “When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed 8 to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk 9 must enter the party’s default.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a) (emphasis added). “Entry of default 10 cuts off a defendant’s rights to appear in the action, file counterclaims, and present a 11 defense.” Wahoo Int’l, Inc. v. Phix Doctor, Inc., No. 13-cv-1395-GPC-BLM, 2014 WL 12 5465373, at *2 n.1 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 28, 2014) (citing Clifton v. Tomb, 21 F.2d 893, 897 (4th 13 Cir. 1927)). “A defendant’s remedy if a defendant wants to set aside default . . . is for the 14 defendant to file a motion to set aside entry of default pursuant to Rule 55(c) of the Federal 15 Rules of Civil Procedure.” Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Shubin, No. 11-cv-01958-LJO- 16 SKO, 2012 WL 5364645, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 31, 2012) (citation omitted). “[A] party in 17 default is generally precluded from participating in the case until the entry of default has 18 been set aside.” Joe Hand Prods., Inc. v. Estrada, No. 10-cv-02165-OWW-SKO, 2011 WL 19 1232606, at *1 n.1 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2011), adopted, 2011 WL 1557876 (E.D. Cal. 20 Apr. 25, 2011). 21 Here, the Clerk of Court entered default before Pinnacle filed its motion to dismiss. 22 (Doc. Nos. 6; 10.) As such, Pinnacle’s filing is precluded. Jellybean Entm’t, Inc. v. Usnile 23 LLC, No. 13-cv-144-IEG-WMC, 2013 WL 3283845, at *3 (S.D. Cal. June 26, 2013) 24 (finding motion for extension of time filed after default to be “precluded”); Oliver v. All- 25 Pro Bail Bonds, Inc., No. 17-cv-1294-AJB-NLS, 2017 WL 11421541, at *1 (S.D. Cal. 26 Aug. 16, 2017) (precluding Defendants’ motion to dismiss and request for an extension of 27 time because both were filed after the Clerk of Court entered default). At this juncture, if 28 Pinnacle wishes to defend against the action, its only recourse is to seek to set aside the 1 || entry of default. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(c); see also United States v. Mesle, 615 F.3d 1085, 2 (9th Cir. 2010) (setting forth the three factors district courts must consider when 3 || assessing whether to set aside entry of default pursuant to Rule 55(c)). For this reason, the 4 ||Court DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Pinnacle’s motion to dismiss. (Doc. No. 10.) 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 Dated: January 20, 2026 □ 8 United States District Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Cites, in this corpus
- United States v. Signed Personal Check No. 730 of Mesle 09-55353 · 2010-08-04