A default judgment is an order made by the Court against the
defendant without having the need for a hearing/trial in court.
This primarily occurs when the defendant does not take the
appropriate steps to respond to the service of a claim and
statement of claim.
Receiving a court document can be daunting, and your first
thoughts may be to ignore such a document. However, it is
imperative that once you have been served with a claim and
statement of claim, you must take action. Court proceedings can
lead to all sorts of litigious complications, and should never be
ignored.
Once served with a claim, the defendant will have twenty-eight
(28) days to file a notice of intention to defend and defence
notice of intention to defend. If the defendant fails to do so, the
plaintiff will have the right to file a request for default
judgment, in which case the court may order against the defendant,
including orders for interest and costs.
