VFS Leasing Co. v. Long Excavating and Hauling, LLC et al (RLJ2)

MOTION for Default Judgment as to Long Excavating and Hauling, LLC.

E.D. Tenn.August 16, 2018

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT GREENEVILLE VFS LEASING CO., ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 2:17-CV-113 ) LONG EXCAVATING AND HAULING, ) LLC, and MICHAEL DUSTIN LONG, ) Defendants. ) MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANT LONG EXCAVATING AND HAULING, LLC Plaintiff VFS Leasing Co. moves the Court to enter a default judgment against Defendant Long Excavating and Hauling, LLC, pursuant to Rule 55(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: 1. Plaintiff filed its complaint against Defendant on July 13, 2017 (R. 1, Complaint), and served them with process on December 21, 2017 (R. 12, Summons Ret’d - Long Excavating and Hauling). 2. Since the date of service, Plaintiff has agreed to extend the time in which Defendant was required to answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint while that parties attempted to negotiate a settlement (R. 15, Response to Order; R. 17, Notice of Settlement; R. 19, Status Report; R. 20, Second Status Report). The last extension to which Plaintiff agreed expired on Friday, May 11, 2018 (R. 19, Status Report). The parties have been unable to finalize a settlement agreement (R. 20, Second Status Report). Defendant has not filed an answer or otherwise responded to the Complaint. Plaintiff applied for entry of default against Defendant on June 25, 2018 (R. 23, Application for Entry of Default). The Clerk entered default against Defendant on July 11, 2018 (R. 25, Entry of Default). WHEREFORE, Plaintiff VFS Leasing Co. prays that this Court enter default judgment against Defendant Long Excavating and Hauling, LLC, for the following relief: Case 2:17-cv-00113-RLJ-MCLC Document 27 Filed 08/16/18 Page 1 of 3 PageID #: 95 2 (1.) Awarding Plaintiff a default judgment in the amount of $61,737.22 pursuant to the 001 Contract and $114,343.18 pursuant to the 002 Contract for a total judgment of $176,080.40 for which Defendants shall be jointly and severally liable; and (2.) Awarding Plaintiff a default judgment for recovery of interest; (3.) Awarding Plaintiff a default judgment for recovery of its attorneys’ fees as provided in the contracts and as proved by the Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs in the amount of $9,687.50; (4.) Awarding Plaintiff a default judgment for recovery of its costs as provided in the contracts and as proved by the attached Affidavit of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs in the amount of $600.00; and (5.) Awarding Plaintiff such other relief as allowed in all pertinent agreements and laws. Respectfully submitted, BAKER, DONELSON, BEARMAN, CALDWELL & BERKOWITZ, P.C. /s/ M.A. Fulks Mark A. Fulks (No. 019387) Attorney at law 100 Med Tech Parkway, Suite 200 PO Box 3038 Johnson City, TN 37604 Phone: (423) 928-0181 Fax: (423) 975-7655 mfulks@bakerdonelson.com Attorney for VFS Leasing Co. Case 2:17-cv-00113-RLJ-MCLC Document 27 Filed 08/16/18 Page 2 of 3 PageID #: 96 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that I caused a copy of the foregoing Motion for Default Judgment to be served via the Court’s CM/ECF system on the registered users. I also mailed a copy of the foregoing Response to Order, via First Class Mail, postage prepaid to the following: Long Excavating and Hauling, LLC c/o Michael Dustin Long 1392 Highway 31 Mooresburg, Tennessee 37811 Michael Dustin Long 1392 Highway 31 Mooresburg, Tennessee 37811 on the 16th day of August 2018. /s/ M.A. Fulks Mark A. Fulks (No. 019387) Attorney at Law Case 2:17-cv-00113-RLJ-MCLC Document 27 Filed 08/16/18 Page 3 of 3 PageID #: 97