Also known as: entries of default · entry of defaults · default entry
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A notation by the court clerk recording that a defendant has failed to plead or otherwise defend after proper service of the summons and complaint. The notation prevents the defaulting party from asserting new defenses on liability but does not itself constitute a judgment. Entry occurs upon the plaintiff's request when the failure to respond is shown by affidavit or otherwise.
Emma Erickson served a federal complaint on Elemental Pharmaceuticals through its registered agent on June 1. The company directed its insurer to handle the matter but filed no answer or motion within twenty-one days. On June 25 Erickson requested entry of default, and the clerk made the notation on the docket. Elemental later moved to set the entry aside under Rule 55(c).
Colleton Preparatory Academy served Hoover Universal through its resident agent for service of process. The agent never forwarded the papers to the company, so no answer or motion was filed within the required period. The clerk entered default against Hoover Universal on the docket. Hoover later appealed the district court's refusal to vacate that entry.
Colleton Preparatory Academy, Inc., which operates a small private school in Walterboro, South Carolina, filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina on March 24, 2003, against Beazer East, Inc. and Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc., alleging claims for negligence and violation of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act arising from alleged damage to roof trusses and sheathing on several Colleton buildings caused by fire-retardant substances. On or about June 6, 2003, Colleton filed an amended complaint substituting Hoover Universal, Inc. for Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc. Colleton served the summons and amended complaint on Hoover Universal by certified mail through its registered agent, The Corporation Company, which accepted service on June 23, 2003. The Corporation Company negligently failed to forward the suit papers or notify Hoover Universal of the lawsuit, so Hoover Universal did not file a timely answer. Colleton moved for entry of default, and the clerk entered default against Hoover Universal on August 5, 2003. Hoover Universal learned of the lawsuit by coincidence on October 8, 2003, during a conversation about a separate case with a paralegal in one of Colleton's lawyers' offices, and nine days later filed a motion to quash service of process and to set aside the entry of default. The district court denied both motions. With the consent of the parties, the district court bifurcated the claims, and Colleton filed a new complaint naming only Hoover Universal on February 20, 2004. The district court struck Hoover Universal's answer to the new complaint. The district court conducted a two-day non-jury damages trial beginning January 31, 2005, and after post-trial motions and certification of questions to the South Carolina Supreme Court, entered judgment for Colleton on March 25, 2009, awarding $871,690.15 in damages plus $290,563.38 in costs and attorney's fees. Hoover Universal appealed.
View caseAn entry of default is only a docket notation that bars new liability defenses. A default judgment is the actual award of relief that follows the entry. The clerk may enter judgment for a sum certain under Rule 55(b)(1), but other relief requires court action.
Supporting sources
Rule 55(c) permits the court to set aside an entry of default for good cause. Courts often find good cause from excusable neglect, a meritorious defense, or prompt action by the defendant. The standard is more lenient than the Rule 60(b) standard that applies once judgment has been entered.
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Yes. A timely Rule 12 motion constitutes defending the action and stops the clerk from entering default. The motion must be filed within the twenty-one-day period after service. Filing after that period does not retroactively cure the default.
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The plaintiff must show by affidavit or otherwise that the defendant was properly served and failed to plead or otherwise defend within the time allowed. The clerk then makes the notation on the docket. No hearing or proof of damages is required for the entry itself.
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