Larot v. Equifax Information Services, LLC
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Larry Alan Burns (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Jessie D. Larot moved for default judgment against the sole remaining defendant, Pioneer Financial Services, after the defendant failed to respond to a properly served complaint. The court granted the motion and entered a total judgment of $6,117.50 in favor of the plaintiff, including statutory damages, attorney's fees, and costs.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting Plaintiff's Application for Default Judgment against Defendant Pioneer Financial Services“Plaintiff’s Application for Default Judgment Against Pioneer Financial Services is therefore GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard for default judgment by verifying proper service of process and finding that the Eitel factors favored entry of default judgment. The court relied on the Ninth Circuit precedent Eitel v. McCool to support its decision, which is the appropriate authority for this procedural posture in the Ninth Circuit. |
Entering judgment for statutory damages, attorney's fees, and costs“It is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff Jessie D. Larot shall recover from Defendant Pioneer Financial Services: Statutory Damages: $ 1,000.00 Attorney's Fees: $ 4,655.00 Costs: $ 462.50 Total Judgment: “$6,117.50” | agree with court The court awarded specific amounts for damages, fees, and costs. While the order does not explicitly detail the evidentiary basis for the specific dollar amounts (such as a fee application or calculation of statutory damages), it is standard practice in default judgments to award reasonable attorney's fees and costs if supported by the record, and statutory damages are often fixed by statute (e.g., FCRA). The court's decision to award these amounts is consistent with the grant of default judgment. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It confirms proper service of process, which is a prerequisite for default judgment. It cites the correct Ninth Circuit authority (Eitel v. McCool) for the factors to consider in granting default judgment. The court explicitly states that the Eitel factors weigh in favor of default judgment. The award of damages, fees, and costs follows logically from the grant of default judgment, assuming the underlying claims (likely FCRA given the statutory damages and defendant type) are valid. The order is concise but contains all necessary elements for a valid default judgment order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 JESSIE D. LAROT, CASE NO. 18cv2381-LAB (AGS) 10 Plaintiff, 11 ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION FOR vs. DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST 12 DEFENDANT PIONEER FINANCIAL EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, SERVICES [Dkt. 47] 13 LLC, et al. 14 Defendants.
16 Currently before the Court is Plaintiff Jessie D. Larot’s Application for Default 17 Judgment against Defendant Pioneer Financial Services, the only defendant remaining in 18 this case. The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s proof of service and is satisfied that Plaintiff 19 properly served Pioneer Financial, a Missouri corporation, via its California Agent for Service 20 of Process, National Registered Agents, Inc.,1 on January 24, 2019. The Court is also 21 satisfied that it has jurisdiction over Larot’s claims and that the factors enumerated in Eitel 22 v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1471-72 (9th Cir. 1986) weigh in favor of default judgment. 23 Plaintiff’s Application for Default Judgment Against Pioneer Financial Services is therefore 24 GRANTED. 25 26 1 The Court takes judicial notice of the “Statement of Information” filed by Pioneer Services Corp. (d/b/a in California as Pioneer Financial Services) with the California Secretary of 27 State on April 23, 2019. That document indicates that Pioneer’s Registered Agent for Service of Process is National Registered Agents, Inc., located at 818 West Seventh Street, 28 Suite 930, Los Angeles, CA 90017. This is the same address where Defendant was served 1 It is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff Jessie D. Larot shall recover from 2 || Defendant Pioneer Financial Services: 3 Statutory Damages: $ 1,000.00 4 Attorney's Fees: $ 4,655.00 9 Costs: $ 462.50 6 Total Judgment: “$6,117.50 7 8 || The clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of Jessie D. Larot and against Pioneer 9 || Financial Services. The clerk shall then close the case. 10 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 || Dated: February 10, 2020 Camu Af. (buy Wy 13 HONORABLE LARRY ALAN BURNS 44 Chief United States District Judge 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28