Legal Question in Personal Injury in Nevada

Re: Judgment by default

First of all, this question requires more facts. Were you the Plaintiff? Did you have counsel? Was this a Nevada judgment?

Plaintiff's attorneys rarely set aside their own judgnents. Usually, defendants seek a vacating of default under a rule of court (NRCP 60 (b), which states:

"On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or his legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation or other misconduct of an adverse party which would have theretofore justified a court in sustaining a collateral attack upon the judgment; (3) the judgment is void; or, (4) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that an injunction should have prospective application. The motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1) and (2) not more than six months after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken. A motion under this subdivision (b) does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation. This rule does not limit the power of a court to entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding, or to set aside a judgment for fraud upon the court. The procedure for obtaining any relief from a judgment shall be by motion as prescribed in these rules or by an independent action."

Cutting through the legalese, this means a judgment by default can be vacated if it was obtained by mistake, accident, or neglect by defendant's attorney which was excusable, the judgment was obtained through fraud, the court had no right to enter the judgment in the first place, or the judgment has somehow been paid, or reversed by a higher court. The motion must be made within 6 months.

Also, another rule precludes a plaintiff from taking a judgment by default without warning the defendant of an intention to to do so.

It is not standard practice, but can be done based on the above.

If you wish to supply additional facts, I can give a more complete answer. Go to http://www.shermanlawoffices.bigstep.com/contactus