Default Judgment

A default judgment is a legal decision made by a court when one party fails to respond or appear in a lawsuit. For instance, if someone is sued and doesn’t show up to court or file a response, the judge can rule in favor of the other party without a trial. This often happens when the defendant doesn’t know about the lawsuit or ignores it. The result is that the party who did appear may win the case automatically, leading to possible penalties, such as paying damages or fulfilling other legal obligations.