Harris v. Prime Recovery, LLC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
WANDA HARRIS,
Plaintiff,
v.
PRIME RECOVERY, LLC,
Defendant.
Case No. 25-2207-DDC-JBW
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff Wanda Harris brought this Fair Debt Collection Act case against defendant
Prime Recovery, LLC. She filed a Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 9). Magistrate Judge
Teresa J. James filed a Report and Recommendation (Doc. 10), recommending that the court
deny plaintiff’s motion because she’s failed to set forth a prima facie case of personal
jurisdiction. Plaintiff timely objected. Doc. 11. This Order overrules plaintiff’s objections,
adopts Magistrate Judge James’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. 10), and denies plaintiff’s
Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 9) without prejudice to refiling.
The court denies plaintiff’s motion because the arguments she has advanced in her
objection are all new ones. Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 9) is barebones,
consisting of just two pages and no legal argument. Plaintiff failed to advance any argument that
she had met her burden to win a default judgment. See Doc. 9 at 1–2. In particular, plaintiff
never explained why the court could exercise personal jurisdiction over defendant. See id. This
failure is significant because plaintiff bears the burden to show that the court has personal
jurisdiction to enter a default judgment in her favor. E.g., Malluk v. Berkeley Highlands Prods.,
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LLC, 611 F. Supp. 3d 1134, 1138 (D. Colo. 2020) (explaining that “the plaintiff bears the burden
of proving personal jurisdiction before a default judgment may be entered”); United States v.
Bradshaw, No. 23-00546-JD, 2024 WL 4521387, at *2 (W.D. Okla. Oct. 17, 2024) (same).
Circuit precedent instructs parties that they waive arguments by making them for the first
time in an objection. E.g., Marshall v. Chater, 75 F.3d 1421, 1426 (10th Cir. 1996) (“Issues
raised for the first time in objections to the magistrate judge’s recommendation are deemed
waived.”); United States v. Garfinkle, 261 F.3d 1030, 1031 (10th Cir. 2001) (“In this circuit,
theories raised for the first time in objections to the magistrate judge’s report are deemed
waived.”); ClearOne Commc’ns, Inc. v. Biamp Sys., 653 F.3d 1163, 1185 (10th Cir. 2011)
(similar). Here, plaintiff advanced no argument—none—why the court’s jurisdiction is proper.
She filed her perfunctory motion at her own peril; her objections ring hollow after her failure to
present any argument in the first instance. Because plaintiff has waived all the arguments she
now makes, the court overrules her objections and adopts, affirms, and accepts Magistrate Judge
James’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. 9). As Magistrate Judge James recommended, the
court denies plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 10) without prejudice to refiling.
Any future motion must address—explicitly—why plaintiff has carried her burden to show that
she is entitled to a default judgment.1
1 	The court’s review of the Kansas Secretary of State’s website shows that defendant’s status is
listed as “Forfeited – Failed to Timely File I/R.” (Available by searching for “Prime Recovery LLC” on
https://www.sos.ks.gov/eforms/BusinessEntity/Search.aspx (last visited Mar. 13, 2026)). Should plaintiff
move for default judgment again, she should explain (among other things) whether she served defendant
properly given that it has forfeited its registration to do business in Kansas. Plaintiff also should explain
how this forfeited status affects her argument that defendant consented to general personal jurisdiction in
Kansas courts should she raise that argument again.
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT Magistrate Judge Teresa J.
James’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. 10) is ADOPTED, AFFIRMED, and
ACCEPTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT plaintiff Wanda Harris’s Motion for Default
Judgment (Doc. 9) is denied without prejudice to refiling.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 18th day of March, 2026, at Kansas City, Kansas.
s/ Daniel D. Crabtree
Daniel D. Crabtree
United States District Judge
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