Default Procedures

In vast numbers of debt-collection cases, defendants never appear. Courts then routinely issue default judgments, often rubber stamping complaints with little or no examination of the underlying facts, on the implied justification that absent defendants have waived their right to a hearing or effectively conceded to the plaintiff ’s case. Many other reasons likely cause these absences, however, and potentially meritorious defenses are never raised. Plaintiffs, meanwhile, are predominantly repeat-player debt buyers whose service efforts and proof of claim are sometimes inadequate. The resulting judgments can have devastating effects on people’s credit, employment, and housing, reflecting and exacerbating social, economic, and racial inequality.