The primary goal of a civil lawsuit is to resolve a dispute in a nonviolent way. The parties do not have free reign in court, however. Civil procedure rules mandate issues regarding notifying the parties about claims and defenses and the way to ask for a default judgment. A default judgment may arise if one party fails to appear or otherwise defend his case.
Request for Entry of Default
The plaintiff is responsible for requesting an entry of default. After filing a lawsuit and serving the defendant with notice of the lawsuit, the court allows the defendant a period of time to answer the claims. If the defendant fails to answer the complaint, fails to appear in court on time or simply does nothing to defend his case, the plaintiff may ask the clerk for an entry of default. The clerk will enter the defendant's default and send the defendant a notice.
Default Judgment
The defendant can object to a request for entry of default. If the defendant does nothing in response, the court may hear the plaintiff's evidence, take what the plaintiff says as true (since the defendant offered no contrary evidence) and enter a default judgment. The default judgment entitles the plaintiff to whatever he asked for in his complaint. If the plaintiff sued the defendant for money damages, and the plaintiff proved what the defendant owed, the court can enter a default judgment for the sum asked for. The defendant is legally obligated to comply with the judgment unless the defendant has a defense against the default.
Defending Against Default
The defendant can ask the court to set aside a default judgment. Courts will only grant such a request under limited circumstances. The motion also must be timely. Common defenses to a default judgment include "excusable neglect" (such as being too sick or injured to respond to the debt) or lack of notice (meaning the plaintiff failed to properly notify the defendant about the claims).
Other Issues
Even if the plaintiff prevails by receiving a default judgment, collecting on the judgment may become another issue. While the judgment is a legal obligation, the defendant may still try to avoid it. The plaintiff would need to take additional legal measures to collect on the debt, such as by initiating a second lawsuit to seek remedies like wage garnishments.
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