Default judgment

Default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of either party based on some failure to take action by the other party. Most often, it is a judgment in favor of a plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court of law. The failure to take action is the default. The default judgment is the relief requested in the party's original petition.

Default can be compared to a victory in sports. In a civil trial involving damages, a default judgment will enter the amount of damages pleaded in the original complaint. If proof of damages is required, the court may schedule another hearing on that issue. A party can have a default judgment vacated, or set aside, by filing a motion, after the judgment is entered, by showing of a proper excuse.

In England and Wales, a Claimant starts a case by issuing a Claim Form. This either states a monetary figure on it, together with fixed costs and court fees; alternatively if the amount cannot be determined, it will be for an amount 'to be assessed'. A Claimant may not wish to recover money at all, in which case the Claim Form states this.

The Claim Form (together with other documents, known as Particulars of Claim and a Response Pack) are served on the Defendant.

If the Defendant fails to reply within 14 days of service, the Claimant can apply for Judgment in Default, either by simply requesting the court's administrative staff enter judgment filing a request for judgment (which is sufficient for routine cases), or by making a formal application to the Procedural Judge. The judgment is known as Judgment in Default of Acknowledgment of Service.

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