Regions Bank v. Cummings

• Court: District Court, E.D. Arkansas
• Decided: September 16, 2024
• Docket: 2:24-cv-00064
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS DELTA DIVISION REGIONS BANK, d/b/a Ascentium PLAINTIFF Capital, as Successor by Merger to Ascentium Capital LLC v. CASE NO. 2:24-CV-00064-BSM MILLARD IMON CUMMINGS; CAROL CUMMINGS; MILLARD ANTHONY CUMMINGS; and CUMMINGS TRUCKING, INC. DEFENDANTS ORDER Regions Bank’s motion for default judgment [Doc. No. 11] is granted against all defendants jointly and severally in the amount of $243,204.01 with post-judgment interest accruing in accordance with 28 United States Code section 1961. A. Default All defendants are in default for the following reasons. 1. Millard Imon Cummings Millard Imon Cummings was served with a summons and a copy of the complaint on April 7, 2024, and failed to respond. Doc. No. 6. A clerk’s default was entered against him on May 30, 2024. Doc. No. 9. Regions now moves for default judgment and Millard Imon Cummings has failed to respond. Doc. No. 11. 2. Carol Cummings

Carol Cummings was served with a summons and a copy of the complaint on April 7, 2024, and failed to respond. Doc. No. 4. A clerk’s default was entered against her on May 30, 2024. Doc. No. 9. Regions now moves for default judgment and Carol Cummings has failed to respond. Doc. No. 11. 3. Millard Anthony Cummings

Millard Anthony Cummings was served with a summons and a copy of the complaint on April 7, 2024, and failed to respond. Doc. No. 5. A clerk’s default was entered against him on May 30, 2024. Doc. No. 9. Regions now moves for default judgment and Millard Anthony Cummings has failed to respond. Doc. No. 11.

4. Cummings Trucking, Inc. Cummings Trucking, Inc. was served with a summons and a copy of the complaint on April 9, 2024, and failed to respond. Doc. No. 3. A clerk’s default was entered against it on May 30, 2024. Doc. No. 10. Regions now moves for default judgment and Cummings Trucking has failed to respond. Doc. No. 11.

B. Liability Defendants are jointly and severally liable to Regions for its damages in the amount of $227,278.78. Defendants are also jointly and severally liable to Regions in the amount of $15,925.23 for its attorney fees and costs. Regions’s request of $104,604.70 for its attorney fees and costs is unreasonable because this request seeks fees and costs incurred in

state court proceedings before this case was filed on April 3, 2024. See Trustees of S. Cal. IBEW-NECA Pension Plan v. Professional Elec. Contractors, Inc., No. SA CV 12-0350 FMO (RNBx), 2017 WL 11632643, at *9 (C.D. Cal. May 26, 2017) (denying attorney fees in default judgment case where plaintiffs offer no authority indicating that they may recover 2 attorney fees for hours spent working on a separate action in state court). Regions has failed to explain why it voluntarily dismissed the state court proceedings and then pursued its claims here, and $104.604.70 is unreasonably high for such a simple case that is being concluded by default judgment. See In re Target Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 892 F.3d 968, 977 (8th Cir. 2018) (district court may make concise but clear explanation that award is reasonable in light of complexity of case); cf’ Argenta Acquisitions, LLC v. Hogan, No. 4:23-CV-01140, Doc. No. 10 (E.D. Ark. Feb. 27, 2024) (award of $8,937 in attorney fees and costs reasonable in default judgment collection action). For these reasons, Regions is awarded a reasonable attorneys’ fee of $14,620.53—.e., the total billed on the April 11, 2024; May 6, 2024; June 10, 2024; and July 11, 2024 invoices, and reasonable costs in the amount of $1,304.70—i.e., the total of the four filing and service fees expended in April 2024. IT IS SO ORDERED this 16th day of September, 2024.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE