The Defendant failed to answer. What is the procedure for receiving a judgment issued in my favor?
The time period to file an answer is 30 days. Thereafter the defendant has 15 additional days to open default by filing an answer and paying the court costs to the clerk of court. If the defendant fails to file an answer, or pay court costs when filing a late answer, the case is said to “be in default.” When that occurs, the court can enter a judgment in the case in favor of the plaintiff. The Court will review the file and determine if the judgment can be entered automatically, without further evidence or hearing, or whether the court is required to schedule the matter for a default judgment hearing to determine the amount of damages to be awarded, if any. Damages take two forms, liquidated or unliquidated. A judgment can issued immediately in a properly proved “liquidated damages.” The court is required to conduct a default judgment hearing when the damages are “unliquidated” or when a liquidated damages case has not been properly submitted. We will explain, further. Generally, “liqu
