PMCW Law

Do you know what a 'default judgment' is? These unique legal judgments can either make or break your case, depending on which side of the ruling you are. Your allies at the Law Offices of Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter, & Welch, P.C. are here to help increase your understanding of default judgments and how to use them to your advantage. Judgments By Default To put it simply, a default judgment exactly what the term implies: a judgment in favor of one party over another by default. When one party fails to take some form of required action, such as failing to appear before a court of law or failing to respond to a court order, the other party may request the Court to grant a default judgment. When one party fails to comply with certain mandatory legal proceedings, the court may automatically rule in favor of the compliant party. Though not physically present, the defaulting party will be obligated to comply with the Court's judgment. Setting Aside Default Ju...

Default Judgments defined A default judgment is a  judgment in favor of the plaintiff based on the failure of the defendant to respond to a law suit or appear in court.  This failure to respond or appear results in the court awarding a default judgment.  The default judgment is relief that is requested by the plaintiff. In other words, if someone files a lawsuit or other legal action against you and you do not respond, you are essentially "forfeiting" the case.  In a civil trial involving damages, the court will likely give the person filing the action the amount they are looking for.  This can be bad for you in several ways: 1) A judgment against you will most likely affect your credit report, and not in a good way! 2) You can have your wages garnished, affecting your employment. 3) You can have your bank account garnished. 4) If you don't have the judgment paid immediately, it earns interest.  This interest can caus...