Opposition summons, default judgment and opposition

Apr 2023

Article

29 April 2023

One day you receive a letter from the court with a default judgment ordering you to pay a substantial amount. You may not even have known that there was a court case against you. In any case, you did not appear in the court case, but a ruling was nevertheless made against you.

Fortunately, there is an option to lodge opposition against the ruling. We can help you with this and explain in this article what you need to look out for.

Whether you are a private individual or run a business, Breyta is here for you.

We provide you with practical tips and guidelines so that you can successfully exercise your right to a defence.

These are the five most important points about the opposition summons, default judgment and lodging opposition:

What an opposition summons is and when it is used.
How a default judgment is delivered and what its consequences are.
What it means to lodge opposition against a default judgment.
How our collection agency can help with drafting an opposition summons and providing opposition.
Important tips and advice for dealing with an opposition summons and default judgment.

What is an opposition summons?

An opposition summons is a document with which you lodge opposition against a default judgment delivered by the court.

With it you make known that you disagree with the ruling in the default judgment and that you want to challenge it. Even if you partly agree with the default judgment, it may be advisable to lodge opposition.

In a default judgment, the court has only considered the evidence or account of the claimant. Often there are more sides to the story.

By lodging opposition, the court reopens the procedure and you get the chance to give your account as well, which means the ruling may ultimately turn out differently.

Various conditions apply to lodging opposition. One of these is that you must lodge the opposition within four weeks after you became aware of the ruling.

The law sets out various requirements that clarify when the opposition period begins to run. We will come back to this later.

Let us fully take care of drafting an opposition summons and providing the right legal support. Maximum results!

What is a default judgment?

A default judgment is a ruling by the court in which the defending party was not present during the court case. That is why it is also called a judgment by default.

Has this happened to you? Perhaps you were not aware of the hearing or were absent for a good reason. This can then have unpleasant consequences for you.

The default judgment is then based solely on the arguments of the claiming party. There is a good chance that the ruling has turned out against you.

Unpleasant, but do not worry! As a collection agency we are here to help you. We can draft an opposition summons for you.

It is, however, very important to take action quickly. If you are faced with a default judgment, get advice from us today.

29 April 2023. One day you receive a letter from the court with a default judgment ordering you to pay a substantial amount. You may not even have known that there was a court case against you. In any case, you did not appear in the court case, but a ruling was nevertheless made against you. Fortunately, there is an option to lodge opposition against the ruling.