Opinion ID: 2403537
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Clerk's Authority to Enter a Default

Text: [¶ 5] Carpenter and Loyen first contend that the clerk of the court lacked the authority to enter a default in this case. Pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 55(a), the clerk may enter a default in a matter without court approval if a defendant has failed to plead or otherwise defend. We are not persuaded by Carpenter and Loyen's contention that they did plead or otherwise defend the action by mailing a letter directly to Ireland personally. [¶ 6] M.R. Civ. P. 12(a) provides: A defendant shall serve that defendant's answer within 20 days after the service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant, unless the court directs otherwise.... In addition, M.R. Civ. P. 5(b) provides that service of pleadings, including an answer, is accomplished by: service... upon the attorney unless service upon the party personally is ordered by the court. In this case Carpenter and Loyen sent a letter to Ireland personally, rather than to his attorney, even though their summonses listed only the name and address of Ireland's attorney. [¶ 7] Further, M.R. Civ. P. 5(d) provides that all papers after the complaint required to be served upon a party shall be filed with the court either before service or within a reasonable time thereafter. In this case, it was not until they filed their motion for leave to file a late answer, almost four months after Ireland filed his complaint, that Carpenter and Loyen filed their answer with the court. [¶ 8] Finally, M.R. Civ. P. 4(a) provides that the summons shall state the time within which these rules require the defendant to appear and defend, and shall notify the defendant that in case of failure to do so judgment by default will be rendered against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint. Pursuant to Rule 4(a), the summonses served on Carpenter and Loyen contained the following standard language, which adequately informed Carpenter and Loyen of their responsibility to answer Ireland's complaint: IF YOU FAIL TO SERVE AN ANSWER WITHIN THE TIME STATED ABOVE, OR IF, AFTER YOU ANSWER, YOU FAIL TO APPEAR AT ANY TIME THE COURT NOTIFIES YOU TO DO SO, A JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT MAY BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU IN YOUR ABSENCE FOR THE MONEY DAMAGES OR OTHER RELIEF DEMANDED IN THE COMPLAINT. The summonses also contained the following language: If you wish to oppose this lawsuit, you or your attorney MUST PREPARE AND SERVE A WRITTEN ANSWER to the attached Complaint WITHIN 20 DAYS from the day this Summons was served upon you. You or your attorney must serve your Answer, by delivering a copy of it in person or by mail to the Plaintiff's attorney, or the Plaintiff, whose name and address appear below. You or your attorney must also file the original of your Answer with the court by mailing it to the following address: Clerk of Superior Court, Dianne Hill, Clerk, PO Box 160, Alfred, Maine 04002 before, or within a reasonable time after, it is served. [¶ 9] We will not disturb the trial court's finding that Carpenter and Loyen did not file an answer pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Although there is no provision in the rules that expressly requires that an answer be filed with the court within twenty days of service of the complaint, the rules do require that service of the answer be made upon the plaintiff's attorney, M.R. Civ. P. 5(b), and that the answer be filed with the court within a reasonable time after service of the complaint, M.R. Civ. P. 5(d). Carpenter and Loyen complied with neither of these requirements. Accordingly, the clerk of court, having received no such answer, was authorized pursuant to Rule 55(a) to enter the default as she did.