04 Feb Motion for Default Judgment in Florida Courts
Defending Party Failed to Respond!
We recently were asked a question regarding a motion for default judgment in Miami, Florida courts. This individual wanted to know what she could do if they have sued someone, but the other person refused to file an answer to the complaint.
Florida Procedure
Under the Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.500, a party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party claim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may move for a summary judgment in that party‘s favor upon all or any part thereof with or without supporting affidavits at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party.
How to Motion for Default Judgment
So, under this rule, the individual who called (the petitioner) can file a “Motion for Default Judgment” with the Court Clerk after a period of twenty days from the date of filing. The Motion for Default would contain a heading entitled “Plaintiff’s Motion for Clerk to Enter Default” and would detail that the she filed suit against the defending party, that they failed to respond to the complaint, that it has been over twenty days since the complaint was filed. She would then make sure that the motion for default was served on the opposing party and filed with the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts. She would also ask the Court to set a hearing date so that the Court can hear her motion for default in order to make the determination as to whether it should be granted. She can have the Clerk of Courts help her out with the setting of the date.
If you have any questions regarding Family Law matters in Florida, please do not hesitate to contact us.