Whitaker v. Kevin Jewelers, Inc., 1:20-cv-01831

Plaintiff Brian Whitaker, a quadriplegic wheelchair user, sued Kevin Jewelers, Inc. under Title III of the ADA and the California Unruh Act for inaccessible sales counters at the Kevin Jewelers store in Tejon Ranch.
Plaintiff attempted substituted service on the corporate agent M. Savoji by leaving the summons and complaint with “Teresa Guzman, Manager” at the Tejon store and mailing copies to M. Savoji at the same Tejon address.
Defendant did not respond; the clerk entered default and Plaintiff moved for default judgment.
The California Secretary of State records showed M. Savoji as the agent for service at a different address (550 S. Hill St., Los Angeles), not at the Tejon location where Guzman was served.
Plaintiff produced no evidence that Guzman was an officer, corporate agent of sufficient rank, or that the Tejon store was the agent’s office or usual mailing address; substituted service requirements therefore were not met.
The magistrate judge recommended denying the motion for default judgment without prejudice, permitting renewal after adequate service.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Adequacy of service of process under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 and Cal. CCP §416.10/§415.20	Service was effected by leaving papers with the store manager and mailing to the named agent at the store	No response filed; SOS shows agent at a different address and no proof manager was authorized to accept service	Service was inadequate; substituted service and service on the store manager did not satisfy requirements
Whether default judgment should be entered after clerk's entry of default	Default entered; plaintiff entitled to judgment on unchallenged allegations	No appearance; but procedural defect (improper service) prevents entering judgment	Motion for default judgment denied without prejudice due to defective service; court did not reach merits/Eitel factors
Whether substituted service on a location manager satisfies service on corporate agent	The Tejon location served and mailed copies sufficed to notify agent/corporation	SOS lists a different official address; no evidence that the manager was the agent’s office or authorized to receive service	Substituted service at the store did not satisfy the requirement to serve at the agent’s office or usual mailing address

Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089 (9th Cir. 1980) (entry of default judgment is within court’s discretion)
Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470 (9th Cir. 1986) (factors for court to consider before granting default judgment)
TeleVideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915 (9th Cir. 1987) (after default, well-pleaded allegations are taken as true except as to damages)
Cripps v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 980 F.2d 1261 (9th Cir. 1992) (plaintiff must prove damages even after default)
In re Tuli, 172 F.3d 707 (9th Cir. 1999) (court must determine adequacy of service and personal jurisdiction before default judgment)
S.E.C. v. Internet Sols. for Bus. Inc., 509 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 2007) (service and jurisdictional prerequisites for default judgment)
Khachatryan v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 578 F. Supp. 2d 1224 (C.D. Cal. 2008) (definition and limits of who qualifies as a corporate "general manager" for service of process)