Setting aside a DC default: fourteen days before it even takes effect

The District of Columbia gives a defaulted defendant more built-in protection than any state, and most of it is invisible unless you read Rule 55 closely.

A default entered on the court's or clerk's own initiative does not take effect for fourteen days, and must be vacated if you move inside that window. A default judgment cannot be entered by the clerk at all in a consumer debt collection action. And even after judgment, the parties can undo it by agreement through the clerk, with no motion at all.

Fourteen days before it bites

D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 55(a)(2):

Effective Date of Default; Motion by Defendant. Any order of default entered on the court's or the clerk's own initiative, including a default for failure to respond to the complaint within the time prescribed in Rule 12(a), will not take effect until 14 days after the date on which it is docketed and must be vacated if the court grants a motion filed by defendant within the 14-day period showing good cause why the default should not be entered.

"Must be vacated" — not may. This is the single most valuable thing to know about a DC default, and it turns on a date you can look up: when the order was docketed.

Note the limit: it applies to a default entered on the court's or clerk's own initiative. A default entered on the plaintiff's request is outside this provision.

You can extend the deadline without a judge

Rule 55(a)(3):

Extension of Time to Plead or Otherwise Defend. Before an order of default is issued, the time to plead or otherwise defend may be extended by one of the following:

(A) an order granting a motion, which shows good cause for the extension; or (B) a praecipe, signed by the parties or their representatives, and filed with the court, which provides for a one-time extension of not more than 21 days within which to plead or otherwise respond.

A praecipe signed by the parties buys a one-time extension of up to 21 days with no motion and no order. If you are approaching the deadline and the other side is reasonable, this is the cheapest fix available — but it must be filed before an order of default is issued.

The clerk cannot touch a consumer debt case

Rule 55(b)(1):

By the Clerk. Except in an action initiated by a debt collector to collect a consumer debt as defined in D.C. Code § 28-3814, if the plaintiff's claim is for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation, the clerk—on the plaintiff's request— must enter judgment for that amount and costs against a defendant who has been defaulted for not responding as provided in Rule 12 if:

(A) the plaintiff filed and served a verified complaint or an affidavit verifying the complaint at least 21 days prior to the request for judgment; (B) the verified complaint or affidavit sets out the sum claimed to be due, exclusive of all set-offs and defenses;

Three separate protections in one subdivision:

Consumer debt is carved out entirely. In an action "initiated by a debt collector to collect a consumer debt" as D.C. Code § 28-3814 defines it, the clerk route is unavailable. A clerk-entered judgment in such a case did not comply with the rule.

The verified complaint or affidavit must have been filed and served at least 21 days before the request for judgment. Not with the request — twenty-one days before it. That is a checkable date.

The sum must be stated "exclusive of all set-offs and defenses." A figure that quietly folds in disputed charges does not meet the rule.

Setting aside an entry of default: bring a verified answer

Rule 55(c)(2):

By the Court. The court may set aside an entry of default for good cause on the filing of a verified answer setting up a defense sufficient, if proved, to bar the claim in whole or in part. The movant does not need to file an answer if the motion is accompanied by a settlement agreement or a proposed consent judgment signed by both parties. In addition, an answer is not required when the movant asserts a lack of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction or when the default was entered after the movant had filed an answer. The court may set aside a final default judgment under Rule 60(b).

The default position is good cause plus a verified answer, and the answer must set up "a defense sufficient, if proved, to bar the claim in whole or in part" — a partial defense is enough.

Three situations excuse the answer entirely:

That last one is a clean fix for a default entered by mistake once you were already in the case.

And for a final default judgment, the route is Rule 60(b).

Undoing it by agreement, through the clerk

Rule 55-III:

The clerk may vacate a default or default judgment, within 60 days after its entry, if the claimant and the defaulted party, or their attorneys, file a signed praecipe so requesting and bearing evidence of its service on all parties that have appeared. When required by Rule 55(c), the praecipe must be accompanied by a verified answer.

This reaches a default judgment, not merely an entry of default. If the plaintiff will agree — and in a case where you have a real defense and are willing to litigate, many will — this is by far the fastest route, and it avoids arguing good cause at all.

Ask the other side first. Sixty days is the whole window.

If damages were proved ex parte

Rule 55-II(a)(1) governs how a defaulted claim for pecuniary loss is proved up:

Procedural Requirements; Motion and Affidavit. In any action in which a default has been entered and the only remaining claims are for property damage or other pecuniary losses, judgment may be entered if, within 60 days of the default, a motion for judgment is filed along with an affidavit meeting the requirements of Rule 56(c)(4) and setting forth:

(A) the specific pecuniary loss sustained; (B) its causal relationship to the factual situation set forth in the complaint; and

Three checkable requirements: the motion within 60 days of the default, an affidavit meeting the summary judgment affidavit standard in Rule 56(c)(4), and content covering both the specific loss and its causal relationship to the complaint's allegations.

An affidavit that asserts a number without connecting it to the pleaded facts does not meet (B).

Notice, and judgments against the government

If you had appeared, you were entitled to 7 days' written notice before the hearing on the application for judgment.

Rule 55(d):

JUDGMENT AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. A default judgment may be entered against the United States, the District of Columbia, or an officer or agency of either only if the claimant establishes a claim or right to relief by evidence that satisfies the court.

If you have not been defaulted yet

See responding to a DC complaint for the deadline and what the answer must contain.

How the District compares

A short checklist

1. Find the docketing date of the default order. If it was entered on the court's or clerk's own initiative and fewer than 14 days have passed, move now — the rule says it must be vacated.
2. Ask whether the other side will sign a praecipe. Within 60 days the clerk can vacate a default judgment by consent, with no showing of cause.
3. Check whether this is a consumer debt collection action. If so, the clerk had no power to enter judgment.
4. Count 21 days back from the request for judgment to the filing and service of the verified complaint or affidavit.
5. Check that the sum was stated exclusive of set-offs and defenses.
6. Prepare a verified answer setting up a defense sufficient to bar the claim in whole or in part.
7. Or use one of the three exceptions — settlement, a jurisdictional objection, or a default entered after you had already answered.
8. If damages were proved ex parte, test the affidavit against Rule 56(c)(4) and the causal- relationship requirement.
9. After judgment, and outside the 60-day consent window, use Rule 60(b).

Where these rules live

• D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 55 — Default; Default Judgment
• D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 55-II — Ex Parte Proof of Pecuniary Losses
• D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 55-III — Vacating Default or Default Judgment by Consent
• D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 60 — Relief from a Judgment or Order

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what amounts to good cause is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.