ALLISON D. BURROUGHS, District Judge.
This case involves the alleged failure of DSA Encore, LLC ("Defendant") to pay for services Louis P. Cote, Inc. ("Plaintiff") rendered in accordance with a contract between the parties. On May 11, 2016, Plaintiff filed the Complaint in this case. [ECF No. 1]. On August 15, 2016, a summons and complaint were served on Defendant at 50 Pocono Road, Brookfield, CT 06804. [ECF No. 4]. Defendant has failed to plead or otherwise defend in this action and a default has been entered. [ECF No. 6]. Plaintiff has now moved for default judgment, requesting $78,745.17 in damages. [ECF No. 9].
The entry of default "constitutes an admission of all facts well-pleaded in the complaint."
In its Complaint, the Plaintiff alleges as follows. On or about September 18, 2015, Defendant entered into a Credit Agreement with Plaintiff that included a provision providing for interest at 2% per month on delinquent accounts. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 4. Defendant contracted with Plaintiff to (1) dismantle, rig, and transport certain large generators and appurtenant equipment (the "equipment") from Salem, Massachusetts to Marlborough, Massachusetts, Compl. ¶ 5; (2) dismantle certain cooling towers in Salem, Massachusetts and to load them onto trucks supplied by Defendant, Compl. ¶ 7; and (3) remove certain heat exchangers and load them into dumpsters supplied by Defendant, Compl. ¶ 8. Plaintiff alleges that it obtained all the necessary permits, dismantled the equipment, rigged it, loaded it, and transported it from Salem to Marlborough, Compl. ¶ 6, seemingly in performance of the services described in Paragraph 5 of the Complaint. Plaintiff does not explicitly and separately allege that it performed the services described in Paragraphs 7 or 8; however, it does allege that the "total price for the materials, labor and transportation of the equipment and the materials and labor associate [sic] with dismantling the cooling towers and loading the dismantled cooling towers onto trucks supplied by DSA, and removing the heat exchangers and loading the heat exchangers into dumpsters supplied by DSA was" $78,318.00. Compl. ¶ 9. The Plaintiff then alleges that the Defendant "failed and refused to pay Cote for the services rendered." Compl. ¶ 10 (emphasis added). After adding interest, other finance charges, and subtracting Defendant's one-time, partial payment on February 16, 2016, Defendant owed Plaintiff $78,745.17 at the time the Complaint was filed. Compl. ¶ 13. Plaintiff further alleges that the parties agreed to a payment plan of $5,000 per week that Defendant ultimately failed to meet. Compl. ¶ 27-30.
Plaintiff, in its Complaint, alleges four causes of action: breach of contract, quantum meruit, fraud and deceit, and a violation of M.G.L. c. 93A, §§ 2, 11. There is no information regarding whether any contract between the parties contained a choice-of-law provision, and thus this Court applies the choice of law analysis of the forum state.
While Plaintiff's motion for default judgment does not specify what counts Plaintiff moves for default judgment on, Plaintiff appears to request damages equal only to the outstanding balance on Defendant's account. [ECF No. 9, 9-3]. Accordingly, the Court interprets the motion for default judgment as requesting judgment only on the first count for breach of contract (Count I). Even if the Court were to assume that Plaintiff moves for default judgment on all counts, Plaintiff has not adequately alleged Defendant's liability as a matter of law on the remaining counts. A simple breach of contract, without more, does not establish a Chapter 93A violation.
With regard to damages, Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2) provides that the court "may conduct hearings or make referrals . . . when, to enter or effectuate judgment, 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." A hearing, however, is not necessarily required, particularly where the facts alleged in the pleadings, together with affidavits submitted by the moving party, establish the amount of the default judgment.
As alleged in the Complaint, Plaintiff expended $78,318.00 total on materials, labor, and transportation in connection with contracts that Defendant entered into with Plaintiff. Compl. ¶¶ 5-9. Interest and other finance charges in the amount of $5,452.67 accrued on Defendant's account, Compl. ¶ 11, resulting in a total balance of $83,770.67, Compl. ¶ 12. Defendant made one payment to Plaintiff in the amount of $5,025.50, resulting in an outstanding balance of $78,745.17 at the time this suit was filed. Compl. ¶ 13. John Cote, President of Louis P. Cote, Inc., represents that, upon review of the records and books of Louis P. Cote with respect to Defendant's account, Defendant owes, including interest to date, $89,032.54. Affidavit of John Cote [ECF No. 9-2 at ¶ 4]. Plaintiff's counsel represents that, to date, the costs incurred have been $501.00. Affidavit of Counsel [ECF No. 9-1 at ¶¶ 9, 13]. Plaintiff requests $78,745.17, which equals the outstanding balance without interest consistent with the Complaint and Affidavit of John Cote, plus costs and 0% prejudgment interest. Proposed Judgment [ECF No. 9-3].
Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for default judgment [ECF No. 9] is
It is hereby ordered, adjudged, and decreed that PLAINTIFF LOUIS P. COTE, INC. recover from DEFENDANT DSA ENCORE, LLC damages in the amount of $78,745.17, plus costs in the amount of $501.00. The total amount of the judgment is $79,246.17, with post-judgment interest as provided by law.
Note: The post-judgment interest rate effective this date is 0.66%.