Rule 55 - Default (a) Entry. When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend as provided by these rules and that fact is made to appear by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk shall enter his default.
An entry of default is the first step to obtaining a default judgment against a party, and allows you to proceed in the action without further notice or input from the opposing party. An entry of default can come in two forms, an entry by the clerk or an entry by the judge.
If you don't file a response to divorce papers, your spouse can request a default. This means asking the court to decide the case without your input. In a default divorce, the court makes the final decisions based on the information from your spouse, and what the law says, without hearing your side.
A default is a failure to perform a duty in legal proceedings. A default judgment is binding, and the defaulting defendant may not litigate his case or present any evidence. A civil action default judgment will grant the amount of relief sought in a plaintiff's complaint.
Entry of judgment is a final recording of the decision and opinion, if the court made one.
A default judgment (also known as judgment by default) is a ruling granted by a judge or court in favor of a plaintiff in the event that the defendant in a legal case fails to respond to a court summons or does not appear in court.
A very important fact you should keep in mind is that California courts do impose a timeline for seeking entry of a default judgment. Specifically, a request for entry of default must be filed within 10 days following a defendant's failure to timely file and serve a responsive pleading.
Rule 36 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure governs requests for admissions. The rule states, in pertinent part, that a matter will be deemed admitted if the party upon whom the request was served does not timely respond or file an objection addressed to the matter. M.R.C.P. 36(a).