Ross v. Jenkins

325 F. Supp. 3d 1141
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMay 23, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–2547–DDC–TJJ
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 325 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (Ross v. Jenkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ross v. Jenkins, 325 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (D. Kan. 2018).

Opinion

Daniel D. Crabtree, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Kendra Ross seeks default judgment against defendants Royall Jenkins, The Value Creators, Inc. (f/k/a The United Nation of Islam, Inc.), The Value Creators LLC, and The Value Creators, Inc. Doc. 23. The court held a hearing on plaintiff's motion on February 2, 2018. Plaintiff testified at the hearing and presented other evidence. Plaintiff's licensed *1153clinical social worker also testified at the hearing. Plaintiff asked the court to enter a default judgment against defendants on all her claims. Plaintiff also made a damages request at the hearing, asking the court to award her damages for restitution, emotional distress, punitive damages, liquidated damages, treble damages under RICO, and damages for conversion. Finally, plaintiff asked for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. Doc. 34.

After carefully considering the evidence adduced at the February 2, 2018 hearing and plaintiff's submissions, the court grants plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 23) against all defendants and her Motion for Attorneys' Fees (Doc. 34). The court awards plaintiff $453,517.20 in restitution damages, $2,920,000 in emotional distress damages, $3,373,517.20 in punitive damages, $282,677.50 as liquidated damages, $907,034.40 for trebled damages under RICO, and $1,800 as conversion damages. The court also awards plaintiff $117,184.34 for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

I. Procedural Background

On September 15, 2017, plaintiff Kendra Ross filed a Complaint against Royall Jenkins, The Value Creators, Inc. (f/k/a The United Nation of Islam, Inc.), The Value Creators LLC, and The Value Creators, Inc. Doc. 1. The Complaint asserts 161 federal and state law claims. The federal claims include violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act ("TVPRA"), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589, 1590, and 1595, for human trafficking and forced labor; the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. , for unpaid wages; and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. § 1961. The state law claims consist of three categories: (1) violations of human trafficking laws; (2) violations of minimum wage laws; and (3) violations of Kansas tort and quasi-contract law. Plaintiff asserts that defendants violated Kansas, New York, New Jersey, and Ohio human trafficking laws. Plaintiff also claims that defendants violated minimum wages laws for those same states. Finally, plaintiff alleges that plaintiff violated Kansas laws for conversion, unjust enrichment, and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Plaintiff served the Complaint on defendant Royall Jenkins on September 21 and 25, 2017. See Docs. 9 & 10. Plaintiff served the Complaint on defendants The Value Creators, Inc. (f/k/a The United Nation of Islam, Inc.), The Value Creators LLC, and The Value Creators, Inc. (collectively, "The Value Creators") on September 18 and 20, 2017. See Docs. 11-13, 15-17.

Defendant Royall Jenkins filed a Motion for a Writ of Certiorari on October 11, 2017. Doc. 18. Magistrate Judge Teresa J. James denied defendant's motion, and noted that defendant's motion did not meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to qualify as a timely Answer or other response. The other defendants have not appeared.

On October 23, 2017, plaintiff filed an Application for Clerks Entry of Default against all defendants (Doc. 20). The following day, the Clerk entered default against all defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a) (Doc. 22).

Plaintiff now asks the court to enter a default judgment against all defendants under Rule 55(b)(2), awarding her damages and attorneys' fees.

II. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55 provides a two-step process for securing a *1154default judgment. First, Rule 55(a) allows the Clerk to enter a default against a party who "has failed to plead or otherwise defend" a lawsuit. Second, after the Clerk enters default, plaintiff may request the Clerk to enter judgment if the amount sought is "a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation." Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1). But when, as here, a plaintiff's claim is not for a sum certain or a sum made certain by calculation, plaintiff must apply to the court for a default judgment under Rule 55(b)(2). When considering a motion for default judgment, the court may hold a hearing if "it needs to (A) conduct an accounting; (B) determine the amount of damages; (C) establish the truth of any allegation by evidence; or (D) investigate any other matter." Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2).

"Once the default is established, defendant has no further standing to contest the factual allegations of plaintiff's claim for relief." Mathiason v. Aquinas Home Health Care, Inc. , 187 F.Supp.3d 1269, 1274 (D. Kan. 2016) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). The court accepts as true all well-pleaded factual allegations in the Complaint. Id. This does not extend, however, to allegations about the amount of damages. Id.

But, even after default, " 'it remains for the court to consider whether the unchallenged facts constitute a legitimate cause of action, since a party in default does not admit mere conclusions of law.' " Bixler v. Foster , 596 F.3d 751, 762 (10th Cir. 2010) (quoting 10A Charles A. Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 2688, at 63 (3d ed. 1998) ). When deciding whether to enter a default judgment, a district court enjoys broad discretion. Mathiason , 187 F.Supp.3d at 1274.

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Bluebook (online)
325 F. Supp. 3d 1141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ross-v-jenkins-ksd-2018.