Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

Re: Default Judgement terms

A court only receives jurisdiction over a case once a defendant has been properly served, -- or the court has decided that plaintiff has complied with the court rules sufficiently to effect reasonable notice.

Thus, until the court has satisfied itself that you have taken reasonable steps to effect service, it will not enter a default.

However, even after a default has been entered, the defendant DOES have well-established rights to have it set aside given the right conditions.

It's not that hard to convince most judges (for example, if you were out of the state for a few months on business and never received actual notice) to set aside the default.

Re: Default Judgement terms

It is true. However, you are forgetting that many, many judgments are entered using substituted service. This is when the process server cannot serve the defendant. The judge then allows service by alternative means and this is proper. Also, there are many process servers who commit perjury and say someone was served when they were not. It is difficult to set aside judgments and almost impossible after one year. Bill Stern