Motion to set aside default judgment

[StillDeep]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
I was sued by an attorney, and missed the date due to work.

I was required to be out of town for my job, the week I was to appear in court.

This resulted in a Default Judgment entered against me.

I want to have the Default Judgment set aside. I have filed a motion to do so.

When I get to court what will I need to tell or present to the judge to have the judgment set aside?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I was sued by an attorney, and missed the date due to work.

I was required to be out of town for my job, the week I was to appear in court.

This resulted in a Default Judgment entered against me.

I want to have the Default Judgment set aside. I have filed a motion to do so.

When I get to court what will I need to tell or present to the judge to have the judgment set aside?

"Your honor, I was out of town and didn't file to continue the case. Sorry".


(And what's likely to happen is that the judgment remains in place. It's your job to either hire an attorney to appear on your behalf or file for a continuance, or do the latter yourself)

(This also assumes that you were properly served)

 

[startedone]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
I was sued by an attorney, and missed the date due to work.

I was required to be out of town for my job, the week I was to appear in court.

This resulted in a Default Judgment entered against me.

I want to have the Default Judgment set aside. I have filed a motion to do so.

When I get to court what will I need to tell or present to the judge to have the judgment set aside?

You mean you missed your trial? Or you got a default & did nothing and then got a default judgment or just a default judgment for some contractual issue that you did not file an answer or appearance for?

Setting aside a default judgment is not difficult -- you just have to show good cause.

You could have called and had the matter taken off the court docket easily enough.

Google scholar "good cause & default judgment" ...

You seem to not know what the heck you are doing, at least that's my view right now.

 

[startedone]

"Your honor, I was out of town and didn't file to continue the case. Sorry".
)

That may be good enough reason for the judge .... up to the judge. Judge's tend to give pro se litigants some leeway.

The OP could have had an emergency he had to take care of.

 

[Proserpina]

That may be good enough reason for the judge .... up to the judge. Judge's tend to give pro se litigants some leeway.

The OP could have had an emergency he had to take care of.

On the contrary. Outside of family court (and even then for the most part) judges across the country tend to hold pro se litigants to the same standards (if not higher, in some locales) as those of a licensed attorney.

Informing the court of the emergency after the event rarely works. Family death might work, though. Something along that nature.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
I was sued by an attorney, and missed the date due to work.

I was required to be out of town for my job, the week I was to appear in court.

This resulted in a Default Judgment entered against me.

I want to have the Default Judgment set aside. I have filed a motion to do so.

When I get to court what will I need to tell or present to the judge to have the judgment set aside?

The only way to get a Default Judgment issued because you didn't show up to court is to prove there is a good and totally unavoidable reason why you weren't there.

"I had to be out of town for my job" isn't likely to be good enough. A majority of parties who are involved in court cases have jobs, but they also know they must be in court or suffer the foreseeable consequence of losing their case by default when they choose NOT to be.

You had plenty of time ahead of the hearing to plan ahead to be in court when you were supposed to. You needed to schedule the time off so that you could appear, or you needed to notify the court and other parties and try to reschedule or continue the case to another date so that you COULD be there.