Westlake Flooring Company, LLC, a California limited liability company, d/b/a Westlake Flooring Services v. Mormar LLC, et al.

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHERN DIVISION Case No. 7:24-CV-00741-M-RJ WESTLAKE FLOORING COMPANY, LLC, a California limited liability company, d/b/a Westlake Flooring Services, Plaintiff, ORDER v. MORMAR LLC, et al., Defendants.

This matter comes before the court on the Memorandum and Recommendation (“M&R”) issued by United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. [DE 16]. Judge Jones recommends that Plaintiffs Motion for Default Judgment [DE 13] be granted. The M&R, along with instructions and a deadline for filing objections, was served on the parties on February 19, 2026. See id. No objection was filed, and the time to do so has expired. A magistrate judge’s recommendation carries no presumptive weight. The court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the... recommendation| ].. . receive further evidence or recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); accord Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261, 271 (1976). The court “shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection made.” Jd. § 636(b)(1). Absent a specific and timely objection, the court reviews only for “clear error” and need not give any explanation for adopting the recommendation. Diamond v. Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co., 416 F.3d 310, 315 (4th Cir. 2005).

Upon careful review of the M&R and the record presented, and finding no clear error, the court ADOPTS the recommendation of the magistrate judge as its own. See Diamond, 416 F.3d at 315. For the reasons stated therein, Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment [DE 13] is GRANTED, and the court enters judgment as follows: 1. As to Counts I and II of the Complaint, the court enters judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $106,949.09, which includes the total due on the loan ($77,420.32) and attorney’s fees and costs ($29,528.77). Plaintiff is also awarded post-judgment interest pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961. 2. As to Counts III and IV of the Complaint, the court enters judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants. The secured interests held by Plaintiff over Defendants’ personal property, as identified in Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement No. 20230110766K (‘the UCC Statement”) [DE 1-4], are hereby foreclosed. Plaintiff is deemed to have a superior interest in the personal property collateral identified in the UCC Statements to that of Defendants, and any other party claiming by or through said Defendants. Plaintiff has the immediate right to possess the collateral identified in the UCC Statement and may sell and liquidate it for the purpose of applying the proceeds to the indebtedness identified in the previous paragraph. Defendants, and any other party in possession of the collateral identified in the UCC Statement, are hereby directed to immediately turn over possession of the same to Plaintiff. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment consistent with this order and thereafter close the case. SO ORDERED this 6 day of March, 2026.

RICHARD E. MYERS II CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE