Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

MD - Defendant Vacated My Judgment

I won a default judgment against a contractor in MD for $25k (pro se). I happened to look online at the court database for the case info today to begin collection proceedings and apparently they held a second trial to vacate the judgment.

I was never informed of the motion to vacate. Even the court database shows I was never served.

The court heard the motion to vacate on June 12th.

How do I proceed? Can I petition the court to re-hear the motion to vacate?

Thanks in advance for any help - it's much appreciated!


Asked on 6/23/09, 9:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: MD - Defendant Vacated My Judgment

To serve you with the motion to vacate, all the defendant had to do was mail you the motion, so nothing would show up in the court database. He would put a Certificate of Service on the motion. Also, the court would have mailed you a notice of the June 12 hearing to whatever address is in the court record. So something doesn't add up here, unless you changed your address without notifying the court.

You need to get a copy of the motion from either the defendant or the court record, and then file a motion to set aside the order to vacate. However, you should understand that if the contractor's motion was also based on a failure of service, the court would likely have granted the motion even if you had been there, because judges always strive to give everyone their "day in court".

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Answered on 6/24/09, 1:16 pm


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