Essence
The Civil Procedure Code (CPC) contains a hypothesis whereby, in the absence of activity or lack of activity, the court shall a8> lack of activity or lack of interest on the part of the defendant (the party against which the case is being brought) in the instated case, shall be reached by expedited a22> manner until the issuance of a final judicial act, if the a30> the legal prerequisites for the issuance of a default judgment are met.
An important moment in the use of this procedural method by the party of the claimant is expressly to make a request for the issuance of a default judgment decision.
This article will outline the cases in which the court, at the request of the claimant and subject to the conditions set out in the Civil Procedure Code, issues a default judgment, thereby concluding the proceedings.
Prerequisites
In practice, frequent hypotheses are the lack of activity or disinterest on the part of the defendant in the initiated against him/her a12> legal proceedings initiated against him.
If the defendant does not a3> exercise their right to defend themselves against the claim brought against them by the plaintiff, the plaintiff will be greatly facilitated in making a a19> request to the court for issuing a default judgment against a26> against the defendant, in case that there are the prerequisites for this. As a final result this will lead to procedural savings, and specifically to a – quick conclusion of the initiated proceedings with a final judicial act, thus and will increase the security of the claimant for the issuance of a judicial a58> decision in his favor.
The prerequisites for issuing a default court decision shall be cumulative present cumulatively (simultaneously), as it is necessary for the defendant in the claim:
– yes no submitted within the deadline a response to the claim petition;
– fails to appear at the first hearing in the case without having requested that it be heard in his absence.
It is also thus the duty of the court to indicate to the parties the consequences that will occur in the event that are the conditions for rendering a default judgment are met.
The court should also assess whether the claim is likely to be well-founded, in view of the circumstances set out in the statement of claim and the evidence presented. As mentioned above, if the defendant has not exercised their right of defense in the proceedings, i.e., has not raised the relevant objections and requests for evidence, and has not presented evidence, this largely supports the plaintiff’s claim to be upheld by the court.
When rendering a decision, the court is not required to state its reasons. According to the Civil Procedure Code, it is sufficient to indicate the existence of the prerequisites for rendering a default judgment.
It is essential to note that a default judgment cannot be appealed, but only revoked under certain circumstances, which are discussed in detail in the following paragraph.
3. Protection in the event of a ruling in absentia judicial decision
3.1. Grounds:
A defendant who did not participate in the proceedings nevertheless has the right to defend himself against a court decision rendered without his participation. This is done by filing a request for revocation of the decision with the court of second instance.
The hypotheses for filing a request for revocation are:
– improper service of the copy of the statement of claim or the summons for the court hearing on the defendant;
– невъзможност за ответника да узнае своевременно за връчването на преписа от исковата молба или призовките за съдебното заседание, поради особени непредвидени обстоятелства;
– inability of the defendant to appear in person or through a representative due to special unforeseen circumstances that could not be overcome.
Each of these circumstances must be proven in order for the request for annulment to be granted by the court of second instance.
3.1. Deadlines:
The deadline for submitting an application for cancellation of a default court a6> judgment is one month and begins to a10> run from the date of delivery of the decision.
Another way for the defendant to protect themselves is to file a claim within three months to challenge the upheld claim when new circumstances or new written evidence of material importance to the case are found that could not have been known to them at the time of the decision or that they were unable to obtain in a timely manner.
The three-month period shall commence on the date on which the defendant became aware of the new circumstance or on the date on which he could have obtained the new written evidence, but not later than one year after the claim became due.
Conclusion:
The procedural method for rendering a default judgment facilitates and expedites court proceedings and the rendering of a final court decision. To ensure that you take advantage of it in a timely manner when filing a claim, if the conditions in the Civil Procedure Code are met, consult a lawyer specializing in civil procedural law.
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If you need highly qualified legal assistance in obtaining a default judgment, you can contact us using the following contact details:
Sole proprietorship law firm “Silvia Petkova”
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author: Toma Tomov