State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. Avant Styles LLC, No. 3:2020cv00300 - Document 35 (M.D. Tenn. 2021)

Court Description: ORDER denying 29 Motion for Default Judgment. Plaintiff has provided insufficient evidence for the Clerk to establish, either on its face or through calculation, a sum certain claim for damages pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1). As a result, Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment 29 is DENIED in its entirety, but without prejudice to refile with sufficient proof to establish a sum certain claim for damages. Signed by Clerk of Court Lynda M. Hill on 3/16/2021. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(kc) Modified on 3/16/2021 (kc).

Download PDF

05, 206, 208, and 210). The invoices, identified below, total $16,114.77. Temporary housing $ 4,534.90 $ $ $ $ 3,846.27 3,844.75 3,888.85 16,114.77 Doc. No. 34-2 Tapestry Brentwood Town Center - July Rent and other fees Bell Apartment Living - December Rent Bell Apartment Living - October Rent Credit Card statement - Sept Rent TOTAL PageID # 205 PageID # 206 PageID # 208 PageID # 210 Case 3:20-cv-00300 Document 35 Filed 03/16/21 Page 5 of 8 PageID #: 228 Once again, Plaintiff provided no evidence that it paid its insured, or any other party on the insured’s behalf for these amounts. Additionally, these amounts do not align with the amounts set forth in the Projected Cost Summary. 3. Utilities - Electricity Plaintiff submitted the following Nashville Electric Service (NES) invoices totaling $1,490.37. (Doc. No. 34-2 at Page ID # 207, 209, 211-214, and 221). NES Invoice Statement Date $ 461.35 7/22/2018 $ 149.93 8/22/2018 $ 154.80 8/23/2018 $ 224.25 9/22/2018 $ 178.95 9/23/2018 $ 184.49 10/22/2018 $ 136.60 10/23/2018 $ 1,490.37 TOTAL Address 809 Melville Dr. 809 Melville Dr. 300 Centerview Dr. 412 809 Melville Dr. 300 Centerview Dr. 412 809 Melville Dr. 300 Centerview Dr. 412 Doc. No. 34-2 Page ID # 221 Page ID # 214 Page ID # 213 Page ID # 212 Page ID # 211 Page ID # 207 Page ID # 209 It is not evident from the documents submitted, however, how much Plaintiff paid the insured or others on his behalf for the electric service reflected in these invoices or in the Projected Cost Summary. II. ANALYSIS Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a) provides that the Clerk of Court must enter a party’s default “[w]hen a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is show by affidavit or otherwise.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Upon entry of default, well-pleaded allegations relating to liability are taken as true. In Re: Family Resorts of America, Inc., No. 91-4127, 1992 WL 174539, at *4 (6th Cir. July 24, 1992). However, default is not considered an admission of damages. Long v. Morgan, 451 F. Supp. 3d 830, 832 (M.D. Tenn. 2020). The court must “conduct an inquiry in order to ascertain the amount of damages with reasonable certainty.” Id. at 832–33. Default judgment may be entered by the Clerk Case 3:20-cv-00300 Document 35 Filed 03/16/21 Page 6 of 8 PageID #: 229 only “[i]f the plaintiff’s claim is for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1). A “claim is not a sum certain unless there is no doubt as to the amount to which a plaintiff is entitled as a result of the defendant's default. De'Mario Driver v. Fabish, No. 3:13-CV-01087, 2017 WL 413719, at *1 (M.D. Tenn. Jan. 31, 2017), report and recommendation adopted sub nom. Driver v. Fabish, No. 13CV-01087, 2017 WL 998071 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 15, 2017). Furthermore, a [p]laintiff cannot satisfy the certainty requirement simply by requesting a specific amount.” 10A Wright and Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. Civ. § 2683 (4th ed.). And an insurer’s estimate of damages is not a “sum certain.” Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. S/S Hellenic Challenger, 88 F.R.D. 545, 548 (S.D.N.Y. 1980), see also Jardine, Gill & Duffus, Inc. v. M/V Cassiopeia, 523 F. Supp. 1076, 1084 (D. Md. 1981). Based upon a thorough review the most recent information provided by Plaintiff, the Clerk remains unable to determine the sum-certain amount to which it may be entitled. First, the amounts sought by Plaintiff in its Complaint, the original Declaration of Mr. Campbell, and the revised declaration of Mr. Campbell differ by $5,208.88, for which no explanation was provided. Second, in support of the bulk of Plaintiff’s claim ($119,662.53), Plaintiff provides only an insurer’s estimate with no evidence that Plaintiff paid to or on behalf of the insured the amounts set forth in the estimate. As stated above, an insurer’s estimate is not a sum certain. With regard to the claim for living expenses set forth in Exhibit 1-C, Plaintiff fails to offer any explanation as to how it calculated the $26,200.25 requested. Upon thorough review of the documents offered in support, the Clerk was unable to recreate the computations necessary to explain how Plaintiff calculated this amount. Although Plaintiff did not provide sufficient evidence to establish a sum certain claim for damages in the documents provided in Exhibits 1-A and 1-C, Plaintiff did provide evidence of payment for the $44,820.86 claimed in Exhibit 1-B. The Payment Worksheet provides dates and Case 3:20-cv-00300 Document 35 Filed 03/16/21 Page 7 of 8 PageID #: 230 amounts of payment, along with check numbers. With the exception of the above referenced claim for $44,820.86, Plaintiff has provided insufficient evidence for the Clerk to establish, either on its face or through calculation, a sum certain claim for damages pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1). As a result, Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. No. 29) is DENIED in its entirety, but without prejudice to refile with sufficient proof to establish a sum certain claim for damages. s/ Lynda M. Hill Lynda M. Hill Clerk of Court Case 3:20-cv-00300 Document 35 Filed 03/16/21 Page 8 of 8 PageID #: 231

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.