Opinion
5:22-cv-35-JSM-PRL
07-18-2022
KATHI ADAMS, Plaintiff, v. UNUM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, Defendant.
ORDER
OHILIP R. LAMMENS, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
In this action, Plaintiff filed suit against Unum Life Insurance Company of America (“Unum”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §1001 et seq. alleging that she is entitled to long term disability benefits under an employee benefits plan.
On April 26, 2022, Plaintiff served the summons and complaint on the Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida (the “Florida CFO”), who serves as the statutory agent for service of process for all insurers in the state. (Doc. 10-1); Fla. Stat. § 48.151(3) (Florida CFO is the statutorily appointed “agent for service of process on all insurers applying for authority to transact insurance in this state....”; Fla. Stat. § 624.422(3) (“Service of process submitted through the department's secure online portal upon the Chief Financial Officer... shall be the sole method of service of process upon an authorized domestic, foreign, or alien insurer in this state.”). The Florida CFO forwarded the summons and complaint via electronic delivery on April 28, 2022 to Unum's designated agent. (Doc. 10-1). To date, Unum has not responded to the Complaint.
Plaintiff has now filed a motion for default judgment pursuant to Rule 55, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 55 sets out a two-step procedure for obtaining a default judgment, with a party first obtaining an entry of default pursuant to Rule 55(a). See 10A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2682 (4th ed. April 2022 update) (“Prior to obtaining a default judgment under either Rule 55(b)(1) or Rule 55(b)(2), there must be an entry of default as provided by Rule 55(a)”). Because there has been no entry of default, Plaintiff's motion for default judgment (Doc. 11) is due to be DENIED as premature.
DONE and ORDERED.