The Court of Appeals held that where the defendant took reasonable steps to respond to the Complaint, her attorney’s later neglect was excusable and the default judgment should be set aside. The trial court refused to set aside the default judgment.
As a result, the plaintiff did not send notice of their intent to seek a default judgment. In this case, the court analyzed whether a defendant’s or a defendant’s attorney’s negligence was sufficiently excusable to set aside a default judgment.Ĭlaims Pointer: In this personal injury case arising out of a car accident, a defense attorney’s assistant sent a letter of intent to appear to the wrong address. Hayward: While the courts impose deadlines on parties to file their pleadings, they also prefer to decide cases on their merits and are generally reluctant to grant default judgments.
Oregon Case Law Update: Setting Aside Default Judgment – What is “Excusable Neglect”?įrom the Desk of Joshua P.
