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, because the defendant has shown excusable neglect and presented a meritorious defense.
Grant the motion, but only if the plaintiff consents to setting aside the judgment.
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.
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.
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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