Default Judgments in Florida

A default judgment is a court order entered against a defendant who fails to respond to a lawsuit within the required deadline. The plaintiff wins without a trial, and the defendant permanently loses the right to contest liability and, in many cases, the amount owed.

Default judgments carry the same legal force as judgments entered after a full trial. The creditor can use every available collection tool to enforce the judgment—including wage garnishment, bank account levies, and judgment liens on real property—and the judgment remains enforceable for 20 years.

How a Default Judgment Happens

A Florida civil lawsuit begins when the plaintiff files a complaint and has the defendant served with a copy of the complaint and a summons. The summons states that the defendant must file a written response with the court within 20 days of service.

If the defendant does not file any paper within that 20-day window, the plaintiff can ask the clerk to enter a “clerk’s default” under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.500(a). The clerk’s default is not itself a judgment. It is a formal notation that the defendant failed to respond, and it removes the defendant’s right to participate in the case going forward.

After the clerk’s default is entered, the plaintiff moves for a final default judgment. For claims involving a specific dollar amount (known as “liquidated damages”), the court can enter the judgment based on the complaint and supporting affidavits alone, without a hearing. A credit card lawsuit seeking a defined balance is the typical example.

For claims involving subjective or uncertain damages (known as “unliquidated damages”), the court must hold a hearing or jury trial to determine the amount. A personal injury claim seeking pain and suffering damages is unliquidated. The default establishes liability, but the plaintiff still bears the burden of proving how much the defendant owes.

Clerk’s Default vs. Judicial Default

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.500 recognizes two paths to default. A clerk’s default applies when the defendant has filed nothing at all. A judicial default applies when the defendant has filed something with the court, but the filing does not constitute a legally sufficient response. A defendant who files a letter to the judge rather than a formal answer has filed a paper but has not “pleaded or otherwise defended” as required by the rules.

When a defendant has filed any paper in the case, the plaintiff must serve notice of the default application before the court can enter a default. When the defendant has filed nothing, no additional notice is required beyond the original summons.

A defendant retains the right to plead or otherwise defend at any time before default is actually entered. A defendant who files an answer on day 21 has technically missed the deadline, but if the clerk has not yet entered the default, the late filing prevents it. Once the clerk or court enters the default, the window closes.

Setting Aside a Default Judgment

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) provides limited grounds for setting aside a default judgment after it has been entered. Florida courts prefer to decide cases on their merits rather than by default, but the defendant bears the burden of proving all three elements.

1. Excusable neglect. The defendant must show that missing the deadline resulted from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, not from deliberate disregard. Examples Florida courts have accepted include clerical or secretarial error, reasonable misunderstanding about settlement negotiations, serious family illness, and systemic failures. The facts must be set forth in a sworn affidavit, not just stated in an unsworn motion.

2. Meritorious defense. The defendant must show a colorable defense to the underlying claim, enough to demonstrate that going to trial could produce a different outcome. A bare denial of the allegations is not enough. Common meritorious defenses include statute of limitations, payment, lack of standing, and failure to state a cause of action.

3. Due diligence. The defendant must show prompt action after learning of the default. Florida appellate courts have used 20 days, the same period allowed for the original response, as a benchmark for what qualifies as prompt. Delays beyond that require additional justification. One appellate court found a seven-week delay unreasonable.

The motion must be filed within one year of the judgment for grounds based on excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud. The one-year deadline does not apply when the judgment is void.

A void judgment is one entered without proper jurisdiction over the defendant, most commonly because service of process was defective. If the defendant was never properly served with the lawsuit, the court lacked personal jurisdiction, and the resulting judgment can be challenged at any time. The distinction between a void and voidable judgment matters: a judgment based on incorrect facts or inflated damages is voidable, not void, and remains subject to the one-year deadline.

Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the plaintiff is a separate ground for relief under Rule 1.540(b)(3). The defendant must show that the fraud actually prevented a fair proceeding and that the defendant could not have discovered the fraud earlier through reasonable diligence.

Filing a motion to set aside does not automatically stay enforcement of the judgment while the motion is pending. A debtor who discovers a default judgment should act immediately rather than waiting, because the passage of time weakens virtually every available argument.

Can You Go to Jail for a Default Judgment?

A default judgment in a civil case does not carry jail time. Civil judgments are about money. They authorize the creditor to collect through garnishment, levies, and liens, but they do not create criminal liability. No one goes to jail for failing to answer a lawsuit or owing money on a civil judgment.

The one exception involves contempt of court. If a court orders a judgment debtor to appear for a deposition or produce financial records, and the debtor ignores that order, the court can hold the debtor in contempt. Contempt can carry jail time, but the incarceration is for disobeying the court order, not for owing the debt.

How to Find Out If You Have a Default Judgment

Florida court records are public. A person who suspects a default judgment may have been entered can search the clerk of court’s website in the county where they live or where a creditor might have filed suit. Most Florida county clerks maintain online case search portals that show case filings, defaults, and judgments.

Default judgments can also surface through credit reports, collection calls, or unexpected wage garnishments. A person who receives a fact information sheet or garnishment notice should check the court records immediately to determine whether the underlying judgment was entered by default and whether the deadline for setting it aside has passed.

What a Default Judgment Means for the Debtor

Once a default judgment is entered, the creditor has the same enforcement powers as any other judgment creditor. The creditor can require the debtor to complete a fact information sheet disclosing all assets, income, and financial accounts. The creditor can garnish wages, levy bank accounts, record judgment liens against non-homestead real estate, and pursue execution against personal property.

The default judgment will typically include the principal amount claimed in the complaint plus pre-judgment interest, court costs, and attorney’s fees if the underlying contract authorizes them. Post-judgment interest accrues automatically at the statutory rate from the date of entry.

While the judgment itself is extremely difficult to undo, the debtor’s ability to protect assets from collection is a separate question. Florida law provides exemptions from creditors that apply regardless of whether a judgment was entered after a trial or by default. Homestead property, head of household earnings, retirement accounts, and assets held as tenants by the entireties are among the categories a judgment creditor cannot reach.

A debtor whose assets fall within these exempt categories often has meaningful settlement leverage. A creditor facing a debtor with protected assets may accept a fraction of the judgment amount rather than spend years pursuing collection with limited recovery prospects.

Avoiding a Default Judgment

The only reliable way to prevent a default judgment is to file a written response within 20 days of being served. The response does not need to be a full legal brief. A simple answer denying the allegations preserves the defendant’s right to participate in the case and prevents the entry of a clerk’s default.

Defendants who are served with a lawsuit on a time-barred debt have a particularly strong reason to respond. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense that the court will not raise on its own. If the defendant fails to respond, the court will enter a default judgment even if the underlying debt is years past the limitations period. That time-barred debt then converts into a judgment enforceable for 20 years.

Defendants who cannot afford an attorney should still file a pro se answer rather than ignoring the lawsuit. The consequences of a default judgment are severe and long-lasting, and the cost of filing a written response is minimal compared to two decades of judgment enforcement.