A default judgment in New Jersey is a court order entered against you after you fail to respond to a lawsuit within 35 days of being served. Once it’s final, the plaintiff can garnish your wages, levy your bank account, and place liens on your property without ever proving their case at trial. New Jersey courts prefer deciding cases on the merits, though, so a defendant who moves quickly has real options to reopen the case under Court Rule 4:50-1.
The 35-Day Clock
Under New Jersey Court Rule 4:6-1(a), you have 35 days from the date you are served with the complaint and summons to file an answer or other responsive pleading. The clock runs from the day of service, not the day the complaint was filed. Miss that window and the plaintiff can ask the court clerk to enter default on the docket, which strips away your right to contest whether you owe anything. From that point on, the only remaining question is how much.1NJ Courts. CN 10914 – How To Request a Default Judgment
How Default Becomes a Judgment
Default and default judgment are two separate steps. Default locks you out of contesting liability. Default judgment is the final order awarding money or other relief.
To get default entered, the plaintiff must file a written request with the court clerk, supported by an attorney’s affidavit establishing that you were properly served, stating the date of service, and confirming the response time has expired. If the plaintiff can’t show proper service, the clerk should reject the request. A defendant who was never actually served, or who was served at the wrong address, has strong grounds to challenge the default later.2Court Caddy. Rule 4:43 – Default
There’s a timing rule that works in your favor. The plaintiff must request entry of default within six months of the actual default. If they wait longer, they have to file a motion on notice to you rather than making a simple clerk request, which gives you another chance to appear.2Court Caddy. Rule 4:43 – Default
Getting the judgment itself depends on the type of claim. For a fixed dollar amount that can be calculated from the documents, such as an unpaid promissory note or a bounced check, the clerk can enter judgment without a hearing based on the plaintiff’s affidavit of principal, interest, and credits.2Court Caddy. Rule 4:43 – Default For everything else, including personal injury claims, contract disputes without a stated damages figure, and any case involving punitive damages or attorney’s fees, the plaintiff must apply to the court by motion served on all parties, including you. The court may hold a proof hearing where it independently evaluates whether the damages are reasonable and supported by evidence. The judge can award less than what the plaintiff asks for.3Justia. Cesar Del Cid v. Douglas J. Fleisher Esq
How to Vacate a Default Judgment
New Jersey Court Rule 4:50-1 lets you ask the court to set aside a default judgment on six grounds:
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, such as a serious illness, a family emergency, or genuine confusion about the deadline.
- Newly discovered evidence that would likely change the outcome and couldn’t have been found earlier through reasonable effort.
- Fraud or misconduct by the other party that led to the default.
- A void judgment, meaning the court lacked jurisdiction or service was so defective that the judgment is legally invalid.
- The judgment has been satisfied or a prior ruling it relied on has been reversed.
- Any other reason justifying relief, which courts reserve for extraordinary circumstances.
Showing one of these grounds is not enough on its own. New Jersey courts also require you to demonstrate a meritorious defense, meaning a legitimate argument that could change the outcome if the case were fully litigated. A defendant who can explain why they missed the deadline but has no real defense to the underlying claim won’t get relief.5CaseMine. Rule 4:50-1 US Case Law
Deadlines for the Motion
The motion must be filed within a reasonable time. For the first three grounds, that means no later than one year after the judgment was entered. The void-judgment and catch-all grounds have no fixed deadline but still require you to act without unreasonable delay. Waiting months after learning about the judgment, without an explanation for the gap, will almost certainly sink the motion.
What a Strong Motion Looks Like
Courts balance the interest in finality against the principle that cases should be decided on their merits, and New Jersey case law consistently shows courts leaning toward giving defendants their day in court when the default resulted from genuine confusion or circumstances beyond their control. The motion should include a sworn statement explaining why you didn’t respond, a clear outline of your defense, and supporting documentation. File early, address the delay directly, and keep the focus on the merits of your defense rather than on excuses.
What Enforcement Looks Like If You Don’t Act
Once a default judgment becomes final, the plaintiff becomes a judgment creditor with several collection tools, and New Jersey doesn’t make creditors pick just one.
Wage Garnishment
New Jersey’s wage garnishment limits are significantly more protective than federal law. Federal law caps garnishment at 25 percent of disposable earnings for most debts. New Jersey limits it to the lesser of 10 percent of your disposable earnings (after taxes and retirement contributions), or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, or $217.50 per week.6NJ Courts. How to Object to a Wage Garnishment in a Special Civil Part Case If your weekly disposable earnings are $217.50 or less, they cannot be garnished at all. The garnishment order goes directly to your employer, who is legally required to withhold the specified amount.
Bank Levies
A judgment creditor can also seize funds from your bank accounts. The creditor obtains a writ of execution, and the sheriff delivers it to your bank, which then freezes the specified amount.7NJ Courts. Collecting Money in a Civil Case Federal regulations provide an important safeguard: if you receive Social Security, VA benefits, or certain other federal payments by direct deposit, your bank must automatically protect two months’ worth of those deposits from any garnishment order. The bank calculates a protected amount based on federal benefit deposits during the prior two-month lookback period, and that amount remains fully accessible to you.8eCFR. Part 212 Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
Property Liens and Seizure
A writ of execution also authorizes the sheriff to seize and sell your non-exempt personal property, including vehicles, jewelry, and office equipment. New Jersey exempts $1,000 worth of personal property and clothing from seizure, so if your personal property doesn’t exceed that amount, the sheriff can’t use this method at all.7NJ Courts. Collecting Money in a Civil Case Real estate is a separate process. The creditor must ask the court for permission to sell the property, and the judgment acts as a lien against any real estate you own in the county where it’s docketed. Certain income sources are completely off limits regardless of the judgment amount, including welfare benefits, Social Security, SSI, veterans’ benefits, and unemployment benefits.
Finding Your Assets
Creditors who don’t know where your assets are can send you an information subpoena, a court document requiring written answers about your bank accounts, personal property, and employment. If that doesn’t work, the creditor can ask the court for a discovery order compelling you to appear and answer questions under oath.7NJ Courts. Collecting Money in a Civil Case
How Long the Judgment Lasts
A New Jersey judgment does not expire quickly. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-5, it remains enforceable for 20 years from the date of entry. If the creditor hasn’t collected the full amount by then, they can file a motion to revive the judgment for another 20-year term by showing it is valid, at least partially unpaid, and nothing prevents enforcement. Interest accrues on the balance during that entire period under Court Rule 4:42-11, so the amount owed grows each year the debt goes unpaid. Ignoring a default judgment rarely makes it go away. Defendants who can’t pay the full amount are usually better served negotiating a payment plan or settlement than waiting for the judgment to expire.
If You Are an Active-Duty Servicemember
Federal law provides separate protection. Before any court enters a default judgment, the plaintiff must file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service. If the defendant appears to be on active duty, the court cannot enter judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent them. A servicemember who does have a default judgment entered against them during active duty or within 60 days of leaving service can ask the court to reopen the case, provided the application is filed within 90 days after the end of military service and the servicemember shows both that military service materially affected their ability to defend and that they have a legitimate defense.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments