How to set aside a default judgment

Every year, thousands of default judgments are entered in the court system. Many can be for substantial sums of money.

The default judgment system assumes that every defendant whose case results in default judgment has no defence to the plaintiff’s claim and admits liability.

Those assumptions are based on further assumptions, any of which may be inaccurate. The assumptions may include:

the summons was properly served;
the defendant understands the summons and procedures to dispute the claim;
the venue and hours of the hearing are suitable to the defendant;
the defendant has the confidence necessary to press their defence in court; and
the claim is large and important enough for the defendant to spend time and effort disputing it.

Due to the comparative ease with which the plaintiff can obtain default judgment, there are correlative rights vested in the defendant.

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The full article (1245 words) considers:

Applicable rules
Regularly obtained default judgment
Relevant considerations including whether a prima facie defence, reasons for default, reasons for delay, and costs and security of plaintiff
Irregularly obtained default judgment
Balancing competing tensions to make a decision
Costs
Authorities