Default Judgment
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, when a party from whom affirmative relief is sought fails to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown, the clerk enters default. A party then seeks a default judgment: the clerk may enter one for a sum certain or computable amount under specified conditions, while other cases require an application to the court, which may hold hearings to determine damages or establish allegations by evidence.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, when a party from whom affirmative relief is sought fails to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown, the clerk enters default. A party then seeks a default judgment: the clerk may enter one for a sum certain or computable amount under specified conditions, while other cases require an application to the court, which may hold hearings to determine damages or establish allegations by evidence.
Example: In Weinstein v. Islamic Republic of Iran, the D.C. Circuit described a default judgment awarded under the state-sponsored terrorism exception and noted that 28 U.S.C. § 1608 requires evidence satisfactory to the court to establish the claim or right to relief.
Common misconception: A default judgment does not invariably mean that the court accepted the claim solely because it went uncontested: in Weinstein, the court noted that § 1608 required the claimant to establish the claim or right to relief with evidence satisfactory to the court.
Sources: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55; Default Judgment Instructions, Eastern District of Tennessee; United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit