Opinion ID: 1280709
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of Defendant's Appearance

Text: In discussing the distinction between default judgments that are obtained under the provisions of Rule 55(b)(1), as compared to those that result via the procedures of Rule 55(b)(2), the majority singularly focuses on the presence of a sum certain as the crucial requisite for proceeding under the former provision of the rule. While a sum certain is necessary to proceed under Rule 55(b)(1), the distinction that determines whether a clerk can enter the judgment or whether the court must enter the judgment is the issue of whether there has been an appearance by the defendant for purposes of this rule. In tailoring its discussion to the narrow issue of a sum certain, the majority overlooks the significance of the absence of an appearance by the defendant as a critical component of a default judgment that is entered pursuant to Rule 55(b)(1). Thus, in establishing as a new point of law that [g]enerally, under Rule 55(b)(1) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, when the damages sought by a plaintiff involve a sum certain or a sum which can by computation be made certain, a judgment by default may be entered against a party who has defaulted as to liability without prior notice to that party, the majority appears to gloss over the essential distinction between default judgments obtained under Rule 55(b)(1) and (b)(2). Only where no appearance has been made by the defendant, can a default judgment be entered under Rule 55(b)(1). [1] See 10A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 2683 at 24-25 (3rd ed.1998) (stating that Rule 55(b)(1) applies only to parties who have never appeared in the action; it does not apply when a party appears and then merely fails to participate in some subsequent stage of the proceedings). In attempting to distinguish those instances that properly fall under Rule 55(b)(1) from those required to proceed under Rule 55(b)(2), the majority should have followed the distinction used in the rule itself. Rule 55(b)(1) is labeled to apply only to those limited instances when a clerk is authorized to enter the default judgment, while Rule 55(b)(2) covers all the remaining instances, which require the active involvement of the circuit court judge in the process of entering judgment. See generally, Wright, supra at § 2684 (noting limited instances when default judgment can be entered under Rule 55(b)(1) and recognizing that in all other instances, including those in which defendant is in default for a reason other than a failure to appear, application for judgment must proceed under Rule 55(b)(2)).