REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

STEVEN E. RAU, Magistrate Judge.

The above-captioned case comes before the undersigned on Plaintiffs Gertrude Nyanjega and Duba Roba's (collectively, "Plaintiffs") Motion for Entry of Default Final Judgment [Doc. No. 7]. This matter has been referred for the resolution of pretrial matters pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and District of Minnesota Local Rule 72.1. For the reasons stated below, the Court recommends denying the motion.

At a party's request, a court may enter default judgment against a party who "`has failed to plead or otherwise defend as provided by [the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure].'" Norsyn, Inc. v. Desai, 351 F.3d 825, 828 (8th Cir. 2003) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a));1 see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b). An "entry of default under Rule 55(a) must precede a grant of a default judgment under Rule 55(b)." Johnson v. Dayton Elec. Mfg. Co., 140 F.3d 781, 783 (8th Cir. 1998). Default judgment is "only appropriate where there has been a clear record of delay or contumacious conduct." Taylor v. City of Ballwin, 859 F.2d 1330, 1332 (8th Cir. 1988) (internal quotation marks omitted). "[E]ntry of default judgment should be a rare judicial act." Comiskey v. JFTJ Corp., 989 F.2d 1007, 1009 (8th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Plaintiffs filed an Application for Entry of Default [Doc. No. 6], which was denied by letter from the Clerk's Office. (Letter Dated Oct. 13, 2017) [Doc. No. 10]. Thus, the record demonstrates that entry of default has not been entered as to any defendant, and therefore, default judgment is not appropriate. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a); Johnson, 140 F.3d at 783.

Based on the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that Plaintiffs Gertrude Nyanjega and Duba Roba's Motion for Entry of Default Final Judgment [Doc. No. 7] be DENIED.