Defendants were not entitled to raise merits-based argument before the district court. Id. The district court's entry of a default judgment precludes Defendants from raising such arguments on appeal. Id.
Defendants also assert the district court erred in finding the accounting presented at the set-off hearing was not in substantial compliance with the court's prior accounting orders. Whether the accounting presented complied with the court's accounting orders is a factual finding to which this Court gives substantial deference. Olcott II, 76 F.3d at 1558. We will not disturb the court's factual finding unless clearly erroneous. See Cartier, 59 F.3d at 1048.
Plaintiff's accounting expert testified on the sufficiency of the accounting and delineated numerous grounds in which Defendants' submission failed to comply with the court order. Where a factual finding rests upon the credibility of a witness, Rule 52(a) requires that this Court give even greater deference to the findings of the trial judge. Id.
Substantial evidence exists to support the court's determination that the accounting presented was not in substantial compliance with the court's prior orders. Accordingly,
in an effort to defend the contract claims on the merits. After an entry of default, a defendant cannot defend a claim on the merits. See Jackson, 302 F.3d at 524 ("A default judgment is unassailable on the merits."); Adriana Int'l Corp., 913 F.2d at 1414 ("[A] default judgment generally precludes a trial of the facts except as to damages."). Defendants argue that the set-off hearing was, in reality, a trial on the merits. But, as the district court repeatedly emphasized, the purpose of the set-off hearing was to force Defendants to produce a full accounting and, failing that, to award Plaintiff damages based on the willful discovery violation; it was not a trial on the merits of the underlying claims. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2); Fed. R. Civ. P. 55.
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