Request for Entry of Default/Court Judgment??

[Saltmines]

Hello,

I posted on the Debt Settlement forum about being sued by Pride Acquisitions in California(OC Chase) but quick details:

Personal service 2/21

Answer filed 3/14, so within the 30 days.

Now I just got a request for entry of default and court judgment mailed to me by the attorney for Pride, which they obviously intend to file with the court.

Um, WTH? Wouldn't they do some homework and verify that actually, I filed the answer so a default doesn't apply...?

Basically wondering what, if anything, I need to do.

Thanks for any info!

[legaleagle]

Did you follow proper procedure for your answer? Is the answer recorded with the court? What type of default are they seeking? Failure to answer, what? More details needed

[Saltmines]

As far as I know, proper procedure was followed re my answer. On the court's website, it shows answer filed 3/14. I then had a 3rd party overnight a copy to Pride and he filed the proof of service with the clerk, showing the overnight mail receipt.

They are submitting an application for entry of default/court judgment simply based on default. That's all I can ascertain from the paper. My guess is they are basing this on the assumption that I didn't file an answer and ignored the summons...hence my confusion, b/c all they would've had to do is check the court site to see it was filed, not to mention the answer was sent to them certified.

I'm not sure if I need to do anything, it just seems odd.

[Saltmines]

To clarify, yes, my answer is recorded with the court.

I guess these guys simply didn't check...?

[debtorshusband]

I don't think there's a need to get real concerned. This is just the product of debt collection attorneys operating like a paper mill. They are pushing a lot of papers around on a lot of cases, (and the work is being done by minimum wage clerks) so mistakes like this are not surprising, and I've seen this happen before. Not that it doesn't shine a spotlight on their incompetence.

What's likely to happen is simply this: The judge (or possibly the court clerk) will deny their motion because an Answer has been filed by the defendant. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep a close eye on the case.

Just so you know, the Request for Entry of Default is not the formal Request for Default Judgment. It is just the plaintiff "putting their foot in the door." Basically, once 30 days have passed after service of the Compaint, the plaintiff can file for default judgment. But if they don't do it right away, and the defendant files a late Answer, the judge may accept the Answer, and the plaintiff loses their chance at a Default Judgment. Since a full request for default judgment takes some time to put together, they file for the Entry of Default. Like I said, that gets their foot in the door, and a late Answer by the defendant will most likely not be accepted after that.

The reason why the formal Request for Default Judgment takes more time to put together is because they must include the same evidence they would introduce at trial: proof of their ownership and an accounting of how the amount they are claiming was calculated. I have seen case paperwork where the judge denied the Default Judgment and dismissed the case because the plainitiff's paperwork was so shoddy, all without the defendant ever lifting a finger in their own defense. (Not that anyone should count on being that lucky themselves.)

Regards,

DH

[Saltmines]

Thank you for the reply!

You are definitely right, I'll be closely following the case. And also you're right that it's clerks at Pride's firm pushing paper around. Funny that they wouldn't check the internet site for the court first and avoid the unnecessary paper, but so it goes.