James River Insurance Company v. Retro, LLC et al, No. 2:2015cv00465 - Document 55 (M.D. Ala. 2016)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING plf James River Insurance Company's 54 MOTION for Default Judgment against Retro and Phillips, as further set out in order. Signed by Chief Judge William Keith Watkins on 7/20/16. (Attachments: # 1 civil appeals checklist)(djy, )

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James River Insurance Company v. Retro, LLC et al Doc. 55 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION JAMES RIVER INSURANCE CO., Plaintiff, v. RETRO, LLC, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO. 2:15-CV-465-WKW ) (WO) ) ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Before the court is Plaintiff James River Insurance Company’s motion for default judgment against Defendants Retro, LLC d/b/a Rewind (“Retro”), and Mickey Phillips. (Doc. # 39); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b). On October 16, 2015, the Clerk of the Court entered default against Retro and Phillips. (Doc. # 29.) The well-pleaded allegations of the complaint state a cause of action for declaratory judgment against Retro and Phillips. Further, for the reasons stated in the June 9, 2016 Memorandum Opinion and Order (Doc. # 51), under Alabama law, Plaintiff is entitled to a declaratory judgment that it owes no duty to defend or indemnify Retro or Phillips with respect to the state court lawsuits filed by Jessica Lynn Tompkins and Natalie Lina Richardson. See Tyco Fire & Sec., LLC v. Alcocer, 218 F. App’x 860, 863 (11th Cir. 2007) (“Before entering a default judgment . . . , the district court must ensure that the well- Dockets.Justia.com pleaded allegations in the complaint, which are taken as true due to the default, actually state a substantive cause of action and that there is a substantive, sufficient basis in the pleadings for the particular relief sought.”). Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff James River Insurance Company’s motion for default judgment against Retro and Phillips (Doc. # 39) is GRANTED. Final declaratory judgment will be entered separately. DONE this 20th day of July, 2016. /s/ W. Keith Watkins CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 2

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