Paralegal Apprentice Course (PAC) Block 6 Practice Test

Default judgments occur when the party being sued does not respond to the complaint or appear in court. After someone is properly served, they have a deadline to file an answer or show up at proceedings. If they skip both, the court can grant the plaintiff the relief requested in the complaint by default, sometimes needing proof of damages if those aren’t liquidated. This mechanism prevents the case from stalling when one side refuses to participate.

If the plaintiff doesn’t show up, the case is typically dismissed for lack of prosecution rather than a default in the defendant’s favor. If the judge finds there’s no evidence supporting the plaintiff’s claims, the plaintiff loses. A settlement ends the dispute without a default judgment.