A plaintiff properly served a summons and complaint on a defendant in a federal district court action. The defendant, who was dealing with a sudden and severe family medical emergency, failed to file an answer within the time required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The clerk entered a default, and the court subsequently entered a default judgment against the defendant. Ten days after the entry of the default judgment, the defendant's attorney filed a motion to set aside the default judgment, arguing that the family emergency constituted excusable neglect and attaching affidavits that presented a strong, fact-based defense to the plaintiff's claim.
How is the court most likely to rule on the defendant's motion?
Grant the motion, but only if the plaintiff consents to setting aside the judgment.
Deny the motion, because a defendant's personal emergency, no matter how severe, is not a legally sufficient basis for failing to file a timely answer.
Grant the motion, because the defendant has shown excusable neglect and presented a meritorious defense.
Deny the motion, because a default judgment can only be set aside if there was a jurisdictional or procedural defect in the service of process.
The correct answer is that the court is likely to grant the motion because the defendant has demonstrated excusable neglect and a meritorious defense. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), a court may relieve a party from a final judgment for reasons including mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Courts generally favor resolving cases on their merits and will consider three factors when deciding a motion to set aside a default judgment: (1) whether the defendant's failure to act was willful, (2) whether the defendant has a meritorious defense, and (3) whether setting aside the judgment would prejudice the plaintiff. Here, the defendant's failure to answer was due to a family emergency (plausibly excusable neglect, not willfulness), the defendant presented a meritorious defense, and the motion was filed promptly, minimizing prejudice to the plaintiff. Therefore, the court has strong grounds to set aside the judgment.
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