Sellars v. Bulldog Marine & Construction, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS No. 6:25-cv-00197 Zachary Sellars, Plaintiff, V. Bulldog Marine & Construction, Inc., et al., Defendants. ORDER Plaintiff filed this action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), seeking backpay alleged to have been improperly with- held. Doc. 1. The case was referred to a magistrate judge. Doc. 5. Despite being served with process, defendant did not file an an- swer or otherwise respond to the complaint. As a result, the clerk entered default at plaintiff’s request. Doc. 8. Plaintiff then moved for default judgment and requested a hearing on damages. Doc. 10. The magistrate judge issued a report recommending that plaintiff’s motion be denied. Doc. 11 at 5. The report detailed at length why plaintiff’s complaint was factually insufficient to sup- port default judgment and suggested that plaintiff file an amended complaint to address those deficiencies. /d. at 3-5. Plaintiff did not file objections to the report but did file an amended complaint. Doc. 12. When there have been no timely objections to a report, or the objections are improper, “the court need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), advisory committee’s notes to 1983 amendment. Having re- viewed the record and being satisfied that there is no clear error, the court accepts the report’s findings and recommendations. The court also notes that plaintiff’s amended complaint (Doc. 12) utterly fails to address the pleading deficiencies that the mag- istrate judge identified in the report. Default judgment is im- proper if not “supported by well-pleaded allegations.” Nishimatsu -l- Constr. Co. v. Hou. Nat’l Bank, 515 F.2d 1200, 1206 (5th Cir. 1975). To avoid dismissal at a later stage, plaintiff must plead more than a threadbare recital of the elements of his FLSA claim. Plaintiff may request leave under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 to amend his complaint to address the deficiencies outlined by the magistrate judge. Plaintiff’s motion for default judgement (Doc. 10) is denied without prejudice. So ordered by the court on September 30, 2025. faacbok BARKER United States District Judge -2-