Under certain circumstances, it is possible to vacate (re-open) a default judgment. The court has a special procedure for determining whether to vacate a default judgment. The procedure is relatively simple, and most pro se defendants can navigate it successfully. What are the criteria for vacating a default judgment? #N.y. There are two main reasons that a court will vacate a default judgment: (1) excuseable default and (2) lack of personal jurisdiction. These reasons are explained below.Įxcuseable default is the most common reason for vacating a default judgment. It has two parts: (1) a reasonable excuse for missing the original court date and (2) a meritorious defense (a good defense). There is a time limit for moving to vacate a judgment because of excuseable default - one year from the date you were served with a copy of the judgment. (If you were never served with a copy of the judgment, your one-year clock has not started.)Ĭommon examples of a reasonable excuse: The most common example of a reasonable excuse is that you did not receive a summons telling you to come to court. Other reasonable excuses are that at the time you received the summons you were out of town, ill, incarcerated, unable to take time off from work, or that you could not answer the summons for some other good reason. You would also have a reasonable excuse if, in response to the summons, you telephoned the attorneys for the plaintiff and they told you not to bother going to court. Sometimes people do not respond to the summons because they do not understand what it is. This is not normally considered to be a reasonable excuse however, some judges will accept it.Ĭommon examples of a meritorious defense: A defense is a reason why you don’t owe the money, not a reason why you can’t pay. ![]() ![]() For example, if you would like to use the defense of identity theft, you would write: “This is not my debt. I am a victim of identity theft.” For a list of possible defenses, see Common Defenses to Debt Collection Lawsuits. Lack of Personal Jurisdiction (improper service) If you don’t know what else to write, most people can honestly state: “I dispute the amount of the debt.” Disputing the amount of the debt, combined with improper service, is a sufficient (and very common) reason for the court to grant an order to show cause. The court can also vacate a default judgment if you were not properly served with a summons.
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