If you ignore a civil lawsuit, the court will almost certainly rule against you without hearing a word of your side. The plaintiff asks for a default judgment, the court treats every allegation in the complaint as true, and you end up legally on the hook for whatever the plaintiff requested. From there, the plaintiff gets court-backed tools to reach your paycheck, your bank account, and your property. You can sometimes undo a default judgment later, but the window is short and the standard is strict.
The Deadline That Starts Everything
A lawsuit begins moving against you the moment you’re served with the summons and complaint. In federal court, you have 21 days from service to file a formal response.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections State courts set their own deadlines, usually between 20 and 30 days.
Your response doesn’t have to be a polished defense. A basic answer denying the plaintiff’s claims is enough to stop a default. If you need more time, you can ask the court for an extension before the clock runs out. The one thing you cannot do is nothing.
How the Default Judgment Gets Entered
Default happens in two steps. The plaintiff first asks the court clerk to note that you’re “in default” for failing to respond. The plaintiff then asks the court to enter a default judgment, which is the actual ruling against you.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default When the plaintiff is seeking a specific amount that can be calculated from something like a contract or invoice, the clerk can enter the judgment with no hearing at all. In other cases, a judge reviews the file and may hold a brief hearing to set the award.
Because you never appeared, the court takes the plaintiff’s version as true. You don’t challenge the facts, cross-examine anyone, or argue over the amount. The judgment typically covers the original claim plus interest and court costs, and often attorney fees if the contract or a statute allows them.
What the Plaintiff Can Do to Collect
With a judgment in hand, the plaintiff becomes a judgment creditor with real leverage. These are court-ordered collection tools, not polite requests, and they don’t need your cooperation.
Wage Garnishment
A judgment creditor can get a court order telling your employer to withhold part of your paycheck and send it directly to them. Federal law caps the amount at the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount by which your weekly pay exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.3U.S. Department of Labor. Employment Law Guide – Wage Garnishment Some states cap garnishment lower than the federal rule allows.
Bank Account Levy
A bank levy freezes your account and lets the creditor pull funds up to the judgment amount. Certain federal benefits are protected. If Social Security, veterans’ benefits, or other covered federal payments are direct deposited, your bank must automatically shield an amount equal to the last two months of those deposits.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can a Debt Collector Take My Federal Benefits, Like Social Security or VA Payments? Anything above that cushion can be frozen or taken, though you can go to court and argue that other funds are also exempt.
Property Liens
The creditor can file a lien against your real property, creating a legal claim on the asset. You generally can’t sell or refinance the property without first clearing the judgment. A federal judgment lien attaches to all of a debtor’s real property and lasts 20 years, with one 20-year renewal available.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 3201 – Judgment Liens State liens typically last 5 to 20 years and are usually renewable. In some situations the creditor can even force a sale, though most states protect part of a primary residence under homestead rules.
The Amount You Owe Keeps Growing
A default judgment doesn’t sit still. Interest starts running the day it’s entered and keeps running until the debt is paid. Federal judgments use a rate tied to the one-year Treasury yield.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1961 – Interest State rates generally fall between about 4% and 10% per year.
The judgment also doesn’t fade quickly. Depending on the state, creditors have 5 to 20 years to collect, and most places let them renew the judgment before it lapses. A patient creditor can keep a judgment alive for decades, which means waiting it out is rarely a real option.
You Can Be Ordered Back to Court
A creditor who doesn’t know where your money sits can ask the court to order you to appear for a debtor examination. It’s a formal hearing where you answer questions under oath about your income, accounts, property, and other assets. The creditor uses your answers to pick a collection tool.
This is where ignoring the case can turn genuinely serious. You cannot be jailed for owing money on a civil judgment, but you can be jailed for defying a court order. Skipping a debtor examination can lead to civil contempt, fines, a bench warrant, and jail until you agree to appear. Lying during the examination is its own problem, since you’re under oath.
Credit and Background Check Fallout
The three major credit bureaus stopped reporting civil judgments on standard consumer credit reports in 2018, so a default judgment won’t directly crush your credit score.7Experian. Judgments No Longer Appear on a Credit Report It isn’t invisible, though. The judgment stays a public court record and shows up on the comprehensive background checks landlords, employers, and some lenders run.8Equifax. Bankruptcy, Liens, and Judgments
The underlying debt is a separate problem. A defaulted loan or a collections account almost certainly appears on your credit report, which can make it harder to get a mortgage, open a credit card, or rent an apartment.
Can a Default Judgment Be Undone
Yes, sometimes, but disagreement with the lawsuit isn’t enough. You file a motion asking the court to vacate the judgment, and you file it fast. Under the federal rules, motions based on excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud must be filed within one year. Motions arguing the judgment is void, for example because the court never had proper authority over you, must be filed within a “reasonable time,” which courts read narrowly.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order State deadlines vary but follow the same pattern.
Courts generally weigh three things. You need a legitimate reason for not responding, such as a serious medical emergency or proof you were never properly served; being busy or confused by the paperwork usually isn’t enough. You need to show you have a real defense to the underlying claim. And vacating the judgment can’t unfairly harm the plaintiff, for instance by undoing evidence preservation that only mattered during the original timeline.
If the court grants the motion, the judgment is erased and the case starts over. You get a fresh chance to answer and litigate on the merits. Miss a second deadline and you almost certainly won’t get another one.