Q: If Court Clerk entered Default should Defendant not respond ?
Since I filed Default and it was entered by court clerk first should the defendant not file any other response ?
A:
You say you "filed Default" so I assume you are the plaintiff in this case. If, instead, a default judgment has been entered against you, you should contact a lawyer in the state the judgment was entered immediately to determine your options.
Generally, obtaining a default judgment means you won your case without the defendant filing a response. A defendant can still challenge a default judgment and move to have it set aside. This can happen, for example, if you attempted to serve the defendant at a house they no longer live at and they can show a court that they never received notice of the lawsuit. Courts want everyone to have a full and fair opportunity to have their cases heard on the merits, if the defendant doesn't know they've been sued until you attempt to collect from them, they haven't had an opportunity to be heard on the merits.
Should the defendant file any other response? Only the defendant or defendant's attorney can answer that. It depends on whether the defendant had notice of the suit and intended to allow a default judgment to be entered. A defendant might do this if they have no defense against the claims and don't want to pay for an attorney to enter an appearance on their behalf.
Contact an attorney admitted to practice in the state in which you've obtained your entry of default, who has an opportunity to review the details of your case, for more information.
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