Setting aside a Kansas default judgment: one year, and the statute points to two routes

Kansas did not adopt the Federal Rules as court rules. Its civil procedure is statutory, in chapter 60 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and the numbering follows the federal rules loosely: 60-255 is default, 60-260 is relief from judgment.

The set-aside provision is one sentence, and it names two statutes rather than one.

Two routes, not one

K.S.A. 60-255(b):

Setting aside a default judgment. The court may set aside a final default judgment under K.S.A. 60-260(b) and 60-309, and amendments thereto.

Most states route a default judgment to a single relief provision. Kansas names 60-260(b) — the general relief statute set out below — and 60-309, a separate provision this site does not yet carry.

If the general grounds in 60-260(b) do not fit your situation, look up K.S.A. 60-309 as well before concluding you have no route. The cross-reference is in the statute for a reason.

The general grounds

K.S.A. 60-260(b):

Grounds for relief from a final judgment, order or proceeding. On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order or proceeding for the following reasons:

(1) Mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under subsection (b) of K.S.A. 60-259, and amendments thereto; (3) fraud, whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic, misrepresentation or misconduct by an opposing party; (4) the judgment is void;

The list continues through the satisfied-or-no-longer-equitable ground and the catch-all, on the federal pattern.

One year

K.S.A. 60-260(c)(1):

A motion under subsection (b) must be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons under paragraphs (b)(1), (2) and (3) no more than one year after the entry of the judgment or order, or the date of the proceeding.

One year runs from entry, not from discovery.

K.S.A. 60-260(a) keeps clerical corrections available "whenever one is found", with appellate leave required only after an appeal has been docketed.

Seven days' notice if you appeared

K.S.A. 60-255(a):

Entry. When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, the party is in default. On request and a showing that a party is entitled to a default judgment, the court must render judgment against the party in default for the remedy to which the requesting party is entitled. But a default judgment may be entered against a minor or incapacitated person only if represented by a guardian, conservator or other legally authorized representative who has appeared in the action, or by a guardian ad litem appointed by the court. If the party against whom a default judgment is sought has appeared personally, or by a representative, that party or its representative must be served with written notice of the request for judgment at least seven days before the hearing.

Three things to check against the file.

There is no clerk route in Kansas. The statute requires "a showing that a party is entitled to a default judgment", and the court renders it.

The judgment is limited to the entitlement — "for the remedy to which the requesting party is entitled", not simply the sum demanded.

Seven days' written notice was owed if you had appeared personally or by a representative.

The statute then lists what the court may do where more is needed to enter judgment: "(1) Conduct an accounting; (2) determine the amount of damages; (3) establish the truth of any allegation by evidence; or (4) investigate any other matter."

K.S.A. 60-255(c) bars a default judgment against the state, its officers or agencies "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 Kansas complaint for the deadline and what the answer must contain.

How Kansas compares

A short checklist

1. Count one year from entry for mistake, newly discovered evidence and fraud.
2. Read K.S.A. 60-309 as well. The default statute names it alongside 60-260(b), and it is a separate route.
3. Check the seven days' notice if you had appeared in any form.
4. Confirm the court, not the clerk, rendered judgment — Kansas has no clerk route.
5. Compare the judgment to the entitlement, not just to the demand.
6. If a year has passed, work on (b)(4) void or the later grounds, which run on reasonable time.
7. Use 60-260(a) for a clerical error — no deadline applies.

Where these rules live

• K.S.A. 60-255 — Default
• K.S.A. 60-260 — Relief from judgment or order

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