Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. JMD Entertainment Group, LLC

958 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2013 WL 3832447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102510
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJuly 23, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. RDB-12-1970
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 958 F. Supp. 2d 588 (Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. JMD Entertainment Group, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. JMD Entertainment Group, LLC, 958 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2013 WL 3832447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102510 (D. Md. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICHARD D. BENNETT, District Judge.

Plaintiff Entrepreneur Media, Inc. (“EMI”) filed this action against corporate Defendants JMD Entertainment Group, LLC and JMD Entertainment and Media Group (the “corporate Defendants”) and individual Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch (“Ms. McLean-Deloatch”). Plaintiffs Complaint (ECF No. 1) alleges federal trademark infringement and federal false designation of origin/unfair competition, pursuant to the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a). Pending before this Court are Plaintiffs Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 27) against the corporate Defendants and Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch’s Motion to Deny Entry of and Request for Entry of Default Order (ECF No. 24), which this Court construes as a Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment. This Court has reviewed the parties’ submissions and no hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md. 2011). For the reasons that follow, Plaintiffs Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 27) is GRANTED and Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch’s Motion to Deny Entry of and Request for Entry of Default Order (ECF No. 24) is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Entrepreneur Media, Inc. (“EMI”) filed a Complaint on July 2, 2012 against corporate Defendants JMD Entertainment Group, LLC and JMD Entertainment and Media Group (the “corporate Defendants”) and individual Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch (“Ms. McLean-Deloatch”) alleging federal trademark infringement and federal false designation of origin/unfair competition pursuant to the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a). Compl. ¶ 6, ECF No. 1. EMI is a California corporation that has provided goods and services to businesses, business owners, and prospective business owners for over thirty years. Id. ¶ 10. EMI owns the ENTREPRENEUR® Mark, as well as seven other marks (collectively the “EMI Marks”) that incorporate the term “ENTREPRENEUR.” Id. ¶¶ 25-26. Three of the EMI Marks are incontestable pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1065.1 Id. ¶ 27. [592]*592EMI has United States federal registrations for all eight of the EMI marks (collectively the “EMI Registrations”). Id. ¶ 25. EMI has conducted the majority of its business using the EMI Marks, including publishing and selling books, e-books, and magazines; conducting educational services including seminars and workshops; operating at least four different websites; and launching applications for mobile devices. Id. ¶¶ 11-12,14-20. EMI has acquired both fame and goodwill, which have resulted in numerous honors, awards, and co-branding business relationships. Id. ¶¶ 21-24.

The two corporate Defendants JMD Entertainment Group, LLC and JMD Entertainment and Media Group are Maryland business entities. Id. ¶¶ 3-4. Individual Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch is the president and founder of both corporate Defendants. Id. ¶ 2. The corporate Defendants have used the ENTREPRENEURS EDGE Mark in the course of their business. Id. ¶ 34-38. JMD Entertainment Group, LLC is the applicant of record for the currently pending application for federal registration of the ENTREPRENEURS EDGE trademark, which was filed on November 6, 2009. Id. ¶ 3; Attach. 9, ECF No. 27. EMI alleges that both corporate Defendants’ use of the unregistered ENTREPRENEURS EDGE mark violates EMI’s intellectual property rights. Compl. ¶ 43. Specifically, EMI claims federal trademark infringement and federal false designation of origin/unfair competition. EMI alleges that the ENTREPRENEURS EDGE mark is confusingly similar to the registered EMI Marks, and that as a result of the corporate Defendants’ use of the ENTREPRENEURS EDGE mark, EMI has suffered harm. Id. ¶¶ 49, 51.

On September 26, 2012, EMI served the Complaint (ECF No. 1) on the corporate Defendants. To date, both corporate Defendants remain unrepresented by counsel despite the fact that they, as corporations, may not proceed in this action without counsel. See Local Rule 101.1(a). Since EMI filed its Complaint, Ms. McLeanDeloatch, who is proceeding pro se, has twice sought an extension of time to obtain an attorney and file responsive pleadings. On October 12, 2012, this Court granted a Motion for Continuance (ECF No. 13), which gave the Defendants an additional thirty days to file an answer. On November 13, 2012, Ms. McLean-Deloatch requested a second extension (ECF No. 14), which this Court granted in an Order (ECF No. 17) dated November 29, 2012. This Order extended the Defendants’ deadline for filing responsive pleadings until December 10, 2012. In the Order, this Court specified that Local Rule 101.1(a) requires the two corporate Defendants to retain counsel, and that this Court would entertain appropriate motions for default judgment if there was continued failure by the Defendants to file appropriate pleadings. Order 2, ECF No. 17.

By failing to retain counsel and file an answer, the corporate Defendants have not taken any action in the course of this litigation. On December 13, 2012, EMI filed a Motion for Clerk’s Entry of Default (ECF No. 20) against the two corporate Defendants for their failure to submit an answer in accordance with Local Rule 101.1(a). On December 14, 2012, the Clerk of the Court filed Entry of Default (ECF No. 21). On February 6, 2013, EMI filed the subject Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 27). EMI pursues this Motion only against the two corporate Defendants, [593]*593and not as to individual Defendant Janice McLean-Deloatch.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Entries of default and default judgments are governed by Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 55(a) provides that “[w]hen a party ... has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.” If, after entry of default, the plaintiffs complaint does not specify a “sum certain” amount of damages, the court may enter a default judgment against the defendant pursuant to Rule 55(b)(2). In considering a motion for default judgment, this Court accepts as true the well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as to liability. See Ryan v. Homecomings Fin. Network, 253 F.3d 778, 780-81 (4th Cir. 2001). However, “liability is not deemed established simply because of the default ... and the court, in its discretion, may require some proof of the facts that must be established in order to determine liability.” 10A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2688 (3d ed. 1998); see also Ryan, 253 F.3d at 780-81. Although the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has a “strong policy that cases be decided on the merits,” United States v. Shaffer Equip. Co., 11 F.3d 450, 453 (4th Cir.1993), default judgment “is appropriate when the adversary process has been halted because of an essentially unresponsive party,” S.E.C. v. Lawbaugh, 359 F.Supp.2d 418, 421 (D.Md. 2005).

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958 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2013 WL 3832447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102510, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/entrepreneur-media-inc-v-jmd-entertainment-group-llc-mdd-2013.