Judgment entered against a party who has failed to defend against a claim that has been brought by another party. Under rules of CIVIL PROCEDURE, when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead (i.e., answer) or otherwise defend, the party is in default and a judgment by default may be entered either by the clerk or the court.
A sample default judgment.
Source: West's Encyclopedia of American Law, ©2005 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 114 words.)
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