Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_10-cv-00688/USCOURTS-azd-4_10-cv-00688-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 15:1692 Fair Debt Collection Act

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 1 Plaintiff consented to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge for all

proceedings in this case, including entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §636(c)(1).

(Doc. 7.) Because Defendant did not appear and establish its standing as a party in this

action, the Magistrate Judge has jurisdiction to enter the requested default judgment. See

United States v. Real Property, 135 F.3d 1312, 1314 (9th Cir. 1998).

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Edward Kukiela, 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

LMA Professional Recovery Group, 

Defendant. 

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No. CV-10-688-TUC-DTF

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Application for Entry of Default Judgment.1

Plaintiff seeks judgment against Defendant for statutory damages in the amount of $1000,

plus attorney fees of $4,070.00 and costs in the amount of $480.82. (Doc. 14.)

Plaintiff submitted an application for entry of default on May 26, 2011. (Doc. 11.)

The Clerk of Court entered default against Defendant LMA on June 1, 2011. (Doc. 13.)

After entry of a default, a court may grant a default judgment on the merits of the case. Fed.

R. Civ. P. 55(b). The request for relief can neither differ from nor exceed that prayed for in

the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(c).

Once default has been entered, the Court must take as true all factual allegations in

the complaint, except for those related to the amount of damages. See TeleVideo Sys., Inc.

v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915, 917-18 (9th Cir. 1987) (quoting Geddes v. United Fin. Group,

Case 4:10-cv-00688-DTF Document 16 Filed 08/02/11 Page 1 of 4
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559 F.2d 557, 560 (9th Cir. 1977)). Plaintiff’s complaint alleges violations of the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. (Doc. 1.) The allegations taken

as true establish that Defendant began placing telephone calls to Plaintiff demanding

payment of an alleged debt in October 2010. Defendant failed to provide written notification

of the debt within five days of the initial communication, refused to provide a written

statement regarding the debt, failed to identify the company name in messages, failed to

disclose in voicemail that the company was trying to collect a debt, stated that there was a

formal legal action pending and stated that failure to respond would result in service of a

summons, threatened to take action that is not legally allowed or intended to be taken, and

engaged in harassing conduct. The company also emailed Plaintiff but failed to provide the

required written statement regarding the debt, threatened to institute legal proceedings

against Plaintiff, and failed to disclose that the company was attempting to collect a debt and

any information would be used for that purpose. This conduct as pled violated multiple

provisions of the FDCPA, including 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d, 1692d(6), 1692e, 1692e(2)(A),

1692e(5),1692e(10), 1692e(11), 1692f, 1692g. As a result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff

suffered mental anguish causing stress, anxiety, nervousness, fear of answering the

telephone, and embarrassment, which impacted his work and personal relationships. (Doc.

1 at 3-8.)

“The district court’s decision whether to enter a default judgment is a discretionary

one.” Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980). Factors that a court may

consider in exercising that discretion include: “(1) the possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff,

(2) the merits of plaintiff’s substantive claim, (3) the sufficiency of the complaint, (4) the

sum of money at stake in the action, (5) the possibility of a dispute concerning material facts,

(6) whether the default was due to excusable neglect, and (7) the strong policy underlying

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favoring decisions on the merits.” Eitel v. McCool, 782

F.2d 1470, 1471-72 (9th Cir. 1986) (citing 6 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal

Practice ¶ 55-05[2], at 55-24 to 55-26).

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There is a significant possibility of prejudice to Plaintiff if default is not entered

because Plaintiff would be deprived of the only available avenue of redress for Defendant’s

statutory violation. See PepsiCo, Inc. v. California Sec. Cans, 238 F. Supp.2d 1172, 1177

(C.D. Cal. 2002). As summarized above, Plaintiff’s complaint is sufficient on its face and the

claim as pled is meritorious. That does not foreclose the possibility that the material facts

could be disputed if Defendant had appeared, however, it forfeited the right to challenge

those facts by failing to respond. With respect to factor four, Plaintiff is seeking only

statutory damages, in the maximum amount of $1000, foregoing his claim for actual

damages. The sum sought is small and statutorily limited, which favors granting default

judgment. With respect to factor six, nothing before the Court indicates Defendant’s default

was due to excusable neglect. The record reflects Defendant’s representative was personally

served with the original complaint (Doc. 9), and Defendant was sent a copy of the request

for entry of default and application for default judgment (Docs. 11, 14). See Shanghai

Automation Instrument Co., Ltd. v. Kuei, 194 F. Supp.2d 995, 1005 (N.D. Cal. 2001) (no

excusable neglect because defendants “were properly served with the Complaint, the notice

of entry of default, as well as the papers in support of the instant motion”). Defendant has

made no appearance nor is there an indication of any contact with Plaintiff’s counsel. Despite

the strong policy favoring a decision on the merits, Defendant’s failure to appear renders that

impossible, which is why Rule 55 exists. Considering all the relevant factors, a default

judgment is warranted.

The Court may hold a hearing to assess damages, however, it is not required if

plaintiff claims a liquidated sum or damages can be assessed based on affidavits. See Davis

v. Fendler, 650 F.2d 1154, 1161-62 (9th Cir. 1981). Because Plaintiff seeks only statutory

damages and he attached evidentiary submissions to the application for default damages, a

hearing is unnecessary. When a debt collector violates the FDCPA with respect to a person,

that person can collect actual damages, additional damages as allowed by the Court up to

$1000, and costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. The maximum statutory

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damages of $1000 are warranted in this case because Defendant committed multiple and

repeated violations of the FDCPA and caused Plaintiff to suffer emotional harm. Having

reviewed counsel’s timekeeping records, billing rates and attorney declarations (Dkts. 11-1,

11-2), and considering the success achieved by counsel, the Court finds the requested fees

($4,070.0) and costs ($480.82) reasonable and allowable pursuant to 15 U.S.C.

§ 1692k(a)(3).

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Application for Entry of Default Judgment (Doc.

14) is GRANTED.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff is awarded damages in the amount of

$1000, attorney’s fees in the amount of $4,070.00 and costs in the amount of $480.82.

DATED this 1st day of August, 2011.

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