Stiles, Louis v. Frito-Lay, Inc.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
LOUIS STILES,
Plaintiff,
v.
FRITO-LAY, INC.,
Defendant.
OPINION and ORDER
26-cv-805-jdp
Defendant Frito-Lay, Inc. moves to set aside the clerk of court’s entry of default in this
case for disability discrimination. Dkt. 8. Frito-Lay explains that its legal team was not aware
of the lawsuit because of a series of administrative errors that occurred after the complaint was
served.
A party seeking to set aside a default must show good cause, timely action to correct
the default, and a potentially meritorious defense. See Sun v. Board of Trustees of University of
Illinois, 473 F.3d 799, 810 (7th Cir. 2007). Frito-Lay has met this standard. As for good cause,
defendant’s situation is similar to the one in Parker v. Scheck Mechanical Corp., in which the court
concluded that it was appropriate to vacate entry of default when there was “a mistake in
processing the documents with [the defendant’s] insurer.” 772 F.3d 502, 505 (7th Cir. 2014).
The other requirements are also met: Frito-Lay moved promptly to set aside the default after
receiving notice, and Frito-Lay has identified potential meritorious defenses to the claims.
Case: 3:26-cv-00805-jdp Document #: 12 Filed: 10/09/26 Page 1 of 2

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So the motion to set aside the default, Dkt. 8, is GRANTED, and Frito-Lay is directed
to file its proposed answer as a separate docket entry. Once it does that, the clerk of court is
directed to set this case for a preliminary pretrial conference with Magistrate Judge Boor.
Entered October 9, 2026.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge
Case: 3:26-cv-00805-jdp Document #: 12 Filed: 10/09/26 Page 2 of 2