Alabama Default Judgment: Rule 55, Vacating, and Collection

An Alabama default judgment is a court order entered against a defendant who was properly served with a lawsuit but failed to file a response within 30 days. It carries the same force as a judgment entered after trial, accrues interest at 7.5 percent per year on most claims, and can be enforced through wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. In some situations you can get it set aside, but the window is short and the standard tightens once the judgment becomes final.

What Triggers a Default

Under Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure 12(a), a defendant has 30 days from the date of service to file an answer or another responsive document such as a motion to dismiss.¹ The clock runs from when you receive the paperwork, not from when the lawsuit was filed. Miss the deadline and you are in default.

The response doesn’t have to deny every allegation. Any formal filing that signals an intent to participate will keep you out of default. Calling the plaintiff, writing a letter, or telling the court in person that you disagree does not count. Only a document filed through the court stops the clock.

None of this applies unless you were properly served. Alabama Rule 4 allows personal delivery of the summons and complaint to the defendant or to someone at the defendant’s home, and Rule 4.1 permits certified mail with restricted delivery when the plaintiff files a written request. When a defendant can’t be located through those methods, courts may authorize service by publication as a last resort. A judgment entered against someone who was never properly served is void from the start.

How a Default Judgment Gets Entered

Getting a default judgment in Alabama takes two separate steps under Rule 55, and they are commonly conflated.

Step One: Entry of Default

The plaintiff files a request with the court clerk, usually with an affidavit, showing that the defendant was properly served and failed to respond in time. The clerk records the default on the docket.² This is an administrative act, not a judgment. It simply establishes on the record that the defendant did not participate.

Step Two: The Judgment Itself

The second step turns that recorded default into an enforceable judgment. When the plaintiff is owed a specific dollar amount that can be calculated from the face of a contract or invoice, such as a past-due loan balance, the clerk can enter the judgment without involving a judge. When damages require estimation, as in personal injury or emotional distress claims, the plaintiff must ask the judge for the judgment and typically presents evidence at a prove-up hearing.²

Even after default, the plaintiff still has to prove what they are owed. A default establishes liability. It does not hand over a blank check. For economic losses like medical bills or lost wages, that usually means receipts, invoices, and employment records. For pain and suffering or emotional distress, the plaintiff may need to testify or bring witnesses. The judge has discretion over the amount.

One built-in protection: the default judgment cannot exceed what the plaintiff asked for in the complaint. Rule 55(d) ties default judgments to the cap in Rule 54(c), so a plaintiff who sued for $50,000 cannot walk away with $100,000.²

If you made any appearance in the case before going silent, you are entitled to written notice at least three days before the hearing on the default judgment application.² An appearance can be informal. Showing up at one hearing, filing a single document, or having a lawyer briefly enter the case is enough to trigger the notice requirement.

Extra Rules When the Defendant May Be in the Military

Federal law adds another step when the defendant might be on active duty. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a plaintiff must file an affidavit with the court before any default judgment stating whether the defendant is on active duty, or saying so if military status cannot be determined.³

If the defendant is on active duty, the court cannot enter a default judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent the absent servicemember. When that attorney cannot locate the servicemember, the court must stay the case for at least 90 days. Filing a false military-status affidavit is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison.³

Setting Aside the Entry Before Final Judgment

If you catch the problem before the judge enters a final judgment, you have the easier path. Under Rule 55(c), the court can set aside the entry of default for “good cause.”² That standard is deliberately flexible, and Alabama courts generally prefer to resolve cases on their merits rather than on procedural defaults.

Courts usually look at three things: whether you ignored the lawsuit on purpose, whether the plaintiff would be harmed by reopening the case, and whether you have a legitimate defense worth hearing. You do not need to prove you would win. You need to show your defense is not frivolous. Acting fast helps.

Vacating a Final Default Judgment

Once the judgment is final, the standard gets harder. You must file a motion under Rule 60(b), which lists six grounds for relief.⁴

The Four-Month Deadline

The three most commonly used grounds are mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud by the opposing party. Motions on any of these must be filed within a reasonable time and no later than four months after the judgment was entered.⁴ The window is short and strict. Many defendants learn about a default judgment only when wages are garnished or a bank account is frozen, and by then the four months may already have passed.

The Kirtland Three-Factor Test

The Alabama Supreme Court set the framework for vacating default judgments in Kirtland v. Fort Morgan Authority Sewer Service, Inc. The defendant must show all three of the following:⁵

A meritorious defense. You must present a plausible defense to the underlying claim. The court is not asking for proof of victory, just a credible reason the plaintiff might not prevail if the case were actually litigated.
No unfair prejudice to the plaintiff. Reopening the case should not leave the plaintiff worse off than a normal litigation track would have. Delay alone is usually not enough; the plaintiff needs to point to something like lost evidence or unavailable witnesses.
No culpable conduct by the defendant. Your failure to respond cannot have been deliberate or reckless. Forgetting about a lawsuit, being confused by the process, or having a medical emergency is treated differently from choosing not to participate.

Void Judgments Have No Deadline

One ground for relief has no deadline at all. If the judgment is void, you can challenge it at any time under Rule 60(b)(4).⁴ The most common reason a default judgment is void is defective service of process. If the plaintiff never properly delivered the summons and complaint, the court never had jurisdiction over you, and anything it ordered is a nullity. You do not need to show a meritorious defense or satisfy the Kirtland factors. The only question is whether service was proper.

Rule 60(b) also allows an independent action to set aside a judgment within a reasonable time, not to exceed three years after the judgment was entered. That is a separate procedural track from a Rule 60(b) motion and gives a longer window for cases involving serious fraud or other extraordinary circumstances.⁴

Interest and Collection After Judgment

A default judgment starts accumulating interest immediately. For judgments based on a contract, the rate matches whatever the contract specified. For all other judgments, Alabama law sets the rate at 7.5 percent per year.⁶ Interest runs on the unpaid balance from the date of entry, so the debt grows the longer you wait to address it.

The plaintiff gets the same collection tools available after any civil judgment. The three most common in Alabama are wage garnishment, bank account levies, and property liens.

Wage Garnishment

Alabama caps garnishment differently depending on the type of debt. For consumer debts governed by the Alabama Consumer Credit Act, the maximum garnishment is the lesser of 20 percent of disposable earnings or disposable earnings minus $217.50 per week (30 times the federal minimum wage). For non-consumer debts, the cap follows federal law: the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50.⁷ Workers earning below $217.50 per week in disposable income are fully exempt from garnishment on consumer debts.

Bank Account Levies and Property Liens

A judgment creditor can obtain a court order to freeze and seize funds directly from your bank account. The process generally involves filing paperwork with the court, serving the order on the bank, and notifying you. Some funds, like Social Security benefits, are typically exempt from seizure even after deposit. Beyond bank accounts, the plaintiff can record the judgment as a lien against real property you own, which prevents you from selling or refinancing without first satisfying the judgment.

If you find out about a default judgment only after enforcement begins, you are in the toughest position. The four-month Rule 60(b) window may have already closed, leaving you to argue that the judgment is void or to pursue an independent action within three years.

1
Alabama Judicial System. Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12
2
Alabama Judicial System. Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
4
Alabama Judicial System. Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60
5
Justia. Kirtland v Fort Morgan Auth Sewer Serv Inc
6
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 8-8-10 – Interest on Money Judgments and Costs
7
Alabama Administrative Office of Courts. Garnishment Provisions for Consumer Debts and Non-Consumer Debts