Opinion ID: 2257566
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Equitable To Excuse Failure To Plead

Text: The second prong of the court's analysis in deciding whether to vacate the default order requires that a court determine whether it is equitable to excuse the failure to plead. In Eshelman Motors Corp. v. Scheftel, 231 Md. 300, 301, 189 A.2d 818, 819 (1963), the defendant, an insolvent corporation, asserted in its motion to set aside a default judgment, filed thirteen days after the entry of the default order, that the delay was caused by a failure to financially secure counsel to assist in preparing a defense. The trial judge denied defendant's motion. Id. at 301, 189 A.2d at 819. This Court held that the trial court abused its discretion when the court denied the motion to vacate and that the opposing party did not claim to be prejudiced by the court's vacating the default order. Id. We held that the grant or denial of the motion is within the trial court's discretion, [b]ut it is a discretion which must be exercised liberally lest technicality triumph over justice. Id. at 301, 189 A.2d at 818 (citation omitted). In the case sub judice, the hearing judge concluded that, in Respondent's motion to vacate he state[d] in his defense that he did not have the funds to hire counsel and as a result, was unable to answer the [p]etition . . . in a timely manner. As soon as he obtained counsel, he took steps to answer the petition. Based upon our review of the evidence, we hold that Judge Heard's finding that Respondent's explanation that he was unable to financially secure counsel was a reasonable explanation and was not clearly erroneous. Petitioner has not claimed that it was in anyway prejudiced by Respondent's untimely response. Even if it had made such a contention, Judge Heard was in the best position to assess Respondent's credibility. Implicit in the hearing judge's analysis, she determined that there was an actual controversy as to the merits of the action. We cannot say that the hearing judge abused her discretion in vacating the order of default.