Case Information
*1 FILED 2012 Mar-30 PM 03:06 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA WESTERN DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK NATIONAL )
ASSOCIATION, Successor by merger )
to Wachovia Bank National Association, )
) Plaintiff, )
) vs. ) CASE NO. 7:10-CV-2726-SLB
) T I D M O R E P A T T O N )
CONSTRUCTION L.L.C.; CAMERON )
TIDMORE; ANDREW C. PATTON, )
) Defendants. )
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS This case is before the court on plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Default Judgment Against Non-Bankrupt Defendants. (Doc. 10.) Plaintiff filed a Notice of Filing of Bankruptcy and Motion to Stay Claims Against Defendant Andrew C. Patton, Jr. (Doc. 8.) Patton’s Bankruptcy Petition was filed as “Andrew Cline Patton, Jr., [formerly doing business as] Tidmore Patton Construction LLC.” By separate Order, the court has dismissed plaintiff’s claims against Patton and Tidmore Patton Construction. The Motion for Entry of Default Against Non-Bankrupt Defendant, (doc. 10), will be denied as to Tidmore Patton Construction, and it will be granted as to defendant Cameron Tidmore.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55, the court makes the following findings and conclusions:
1. Plaintiff properly served the Summons and Complaint upon defendant Cameron Tidmore on October 18, 2010. (Doc. 6.) To date, Tidmore has failed to appear, plead, or otherwise defend.
2. The Affidavit of James B. Bailey, attorney for plaintiff, states that Tidmore is not a minor or an incompetent person. (Doc. 11-1 ¶ 9.) [2]
3. In its well-pleaded Complaint, plaintiff alleges that Tidmore Patton Construction defaulted on loans given by plaintiff and such loans were guaranteed by Tidmore. (Doc. 1 ¶ 3 and Ex. A.) Because Tidmore has failed to defend against these allegations and is in default, the court finds that he has admitted such facts and his liability is established. See Nishimatsu Const. Co., Ltd. v. Houston Nat. Bank , 515 F.2d 1200, 1206 (5th Cir. 1975), [3] cited in Cotton v. Massachusetts Mut. Life Ins. Co. , 402 F.3d 1267, 1278 (11th Cir. 2005).
4. Plaintiff claims $153,527.78 in damages, interest, and costs, itemized as follows:
Principal Amount $138,965.07 Unpaid Interest $ 10,029.01 Legal Fees and Costs $ 4,533.70 ( See doc. 10-1.) A judgment in favor of plaintiff and against defendant Tidmore for the sum total of $153,527.78, will be entered contemporaneously with these Findings and Conclusions.
The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to serve Tidmore with a copy of these Findings and Conclusions at the following address:
Cameron Tidmore
1419 Belle Meade Blvd.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35405 DONE , this 30th day of March, 2012.
SHARON LOVELACE BLACKBURN CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
[1] Reference to a document number, [“Doc. ___”], refers to the number assigned to each document as it is filed in the court’s record.
[2] The court notes that counsel obviously “cut and pasted” his affidavit from another case. The style on Mr. Bailey’s Affidavit is from another case and bears another case number. Nevertheless, the facts in the Affidavit pertain to the instant case.
[3] Decisions of the former Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered prior to October 1, 1981, constitute binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit. Bonner v. City of Prichard , 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc).