Second Time Defendant Files to Vacate Judgement
My question involves small claims court in the state of: New Jersey
I filed a small claims against the defendant last year and default judgement was entered in my favor. The defendant filed a motion to vacate judgement as well as a counterclaim and the another court appearance was scheduled. They filed a request for a adjournment a few days prior to the actual date but it was not granted. The defendant once again was not there and default judgement was re-entered in my favor. Now the defendant has filed another motion to vacate default judgement.
My question is can the defendant do that a second time, especially when they have missed court twice even when properly served? Thank you.
Re: Second Time Defendant Files to Vacate Judgement
Obviously he CAN do it because he DID do it.
There's no way to predict how the court will respond to it.
Did you file a response to it?
Motions often get granted if they are unopposed.
If you don't want to risk that, you have to file a response and explain why the motion shouldn't be granted.
Re: Second Time Defendant Files to Vacate Judgement
I will be filing a motion to oppose it this week. Is there anything I need to state on the objection for the motion to be denied? I filed an objection to the defendants first motion to vacate judgement but it was still granted to them.
Re: Second Time Defendant Files to Vacate Judgement
Apparently the court thought, the first time around, that they had valid cause for missing the original hearing and a potentially meritorious defense. None of that has changed. But that doesn't of itself mean that they have a basis to set aside the second default, given that they can't dispute that they had notice. If they brought a motion to adjourn and the court denied it, one would expect that the court did not find their reasons for wanting an adjournment to justify granting an adjournment, so it's difficult to believe that the same reasons would be deemed sufficient justification for missing the court date.
What is their excuse for missing the court date?
In your response to their motion, you would provide a legal and factual defense based upon the issues they raise in their motion. As you have not told us any of the grounds they're alleging as a basis to set aside the default, we have no way of telling you how to respond to that unknown information.
Re: Second Time Defendant Files to Vacate Judgement
They stated they had a business scheduled for that day (flight).