Judgment in Default

You may be able to enter "Judgment in Default" against your opponent without the need for a Hearing if:

1. Your opponent does not return the Acknowledgment of Service Form or does not return the form for defending a claim or file a separate defence. Your opponent has a set time limit to return this form to the court. For some actions this is 14 days and for others it is 21 days. The court will be able to tell you when this form should be returned to them by your opponent.

2. Your opponent admits part or all of your claim.
If your opponent admits only part of your claim you can enter judgment for the amount admitted but will have to argue in court about the amount which is not admitted.

To enter Judgment in Default you will need to obtain a Form from the court, this is known as a "Request for Judgment" Form. You can send this to the court if your opponent has not paid you or replied to your Summons.

You cannot obtain judgment in default if your claim is for delivery of goods which are subject to an agreement covered by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. See Consumer. Or a claim for money secured by mortgage or probate proceedings.

You also cannot obtain judgment in default if you have chosen to have your case dealt with under a special procedure known as a "Part 8" procedure. This is a procedure where you can ask the court to make a decision about an issue in your case which is unlikely to involve facts which are substantially disputed. See Part 8 Procedure in Deciding a Specific Issue