Doe v. Legacy Broadcasting of Minnesota, Inc.

504 N.W.2d 527 · Court of Appeals of Minnesota · 1993

Facts

Respondent Mary Doe served a complaint on appellant Christopher Tsipouras on April 17, 1990. The complaint alleged that Tsipouras and several other men sexually assaulted her in a hotel room on August 9, 1989. Appellant was incarcerated at the time he was served. Appellant failed to answer the complaint until September 12, 1991. When served with a copy of appellant's answer, respondent's attorney did not object to its untimeliness and accepted it. Approximately four months later, on January 10, 1992, respondent moved for a default judgment of $1,000,000 against appellant. Respondent's motion was based on appellant's failure to answer her complaint in a timely fashion.

Procedural history

The trial court entered a default judgment against appellant, granting respondent's motion for $1,000,000. The trial court held that appellant lacked a reasonable excuse for not answering timely and that respondent would suffer prejudice. Without moving to reopen or vacate the default judgment, appellant filed his notice of appeal to this court.

Issue

Did the trial court err in granting respondent’s motion for default judgment?

Holding

The court held that the respondent waived her objections to the untimeliness of appellant's answer. Therefore, the trial court's award of default judgment to respondent is reversed.

Rule

A default judgment may be entered against a party who fails to plead or otherwise defend a claim within the time allowed by law. However, an attorney may waive the right to object to an adversary’s untimely service of pleadings. This waiver occurs if the plaintiff accepts the untimely answer and proceeds with actions indicating trial preparation. The court found waiver based on the significant time between accepting the answer and moving for default, and the parties' subsequent engagement in mediation and scheduling depositions.

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