Default Judgment
What it means
When a person is sued and does not file an answer or appear in court by the deadline, the judge can give the other side what they asked for — money, eviction, whatever the case is about. This is called a default judgment. The defendant loses without anyone hearing their side. Default judgments happen a lot in debt collection cases and eviction cases because people do not respond to the papers. Default judgments can sometimes be reopened — a judge can vacate (undo) the default if the defendant has a good reason for not responding and a real defense to the case.
When you might hear this
This happens when someone is sued and does not respond or show up in court. The other side wins automatically — not because they proved their case, but because no one showed up to argue the other side.
What to ask
- How much time do I have to respond before a default judgment is entered?
- Can the default judgment be vacated (undone), and what does the court need to see?
- Is there a deadline to ask the court to vacate a default judgment?
- If a default judgment was entered against me, can my wages be garnished?