Opinion ID: 596121
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Meritoriousness of the Claims and Defenses

Text: 49 The district court concluded that the plaintiffs' claims were meritorious. Its decision finds strong support in our earlier analysis in Hoxworth I. Defendants argue that before granting default as a sanction, the district court should have evaluated their denials and affirmative defenses. Nothing in our precedent requires the district court to evaluate defenses that do not bear directly on the meritoriousness of the underlying claim. 50 Nor have we ever required that the district court balance both parties' claims and defenses. On the contrary, as we pointed out in Bedwell, unless the pleading asserted a dispositive defense (or claim), the issue of meritoriousness would be neutral. 843 F.2d at 696. We decline to require the district court to have a mini-trial before it can impose a default.