Q: Can we ask the Court for a Default judgement against 2 of 3 served defendants at this time?
I have invested countless hours researching facts, law, and evidence, and ultimately we filed an 88 page, 11 count complaint in the McLean County IL Circuit Court pro-se, asking for at least $144,000 in damages against three defendants. This was filed on July 3, with the corporation's registered agent being served July 13, and one employee defendant being served July 14.
The remaining defendant employee is reportedly out of the office indefinitely due to "critical illness". Her summons was returned on Aug 9, with an alias summons being issued on Aug 10, and has been forwarded to the appropriate Sheriff for service at her residence.
As of today 8/15/23, neither served defendant has responded to the complaint and summons within the 30 days required by the Rules of Civil Procedure. We want to move for a Default Judgment.
A: Probably. Depending on the wording of your complaint (your attachment won't go through this system) it's possible you'll be limited to a default judgment as to liability and still need a hearing at which you prove your damages and each defendant has an opportunity to try to disprove them. There are a couple of technical hoops you've got to jump through to obtain and enforce a default judgment. While I admire your determination in researching and filing your complaint, I encourage you to contact an attorney at this point to make sure those hoops get jumped through. You also need to know that each defaulted defendant has a thirty-day window after a default judgment is entered to ask the court to vacate the judgment, with the thirty days being extended to the next day the courts are open if the thirtieth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.
Charles Candiano agrees with this answer
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