Mistakes Don’t Always Define You: Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds Set-Aside of Default Judgment

What happens when a defendant simply drops the ball and fails to respond in a timely manner to a complaint and a default judgment is entered? Indiana courts have refused to hold such conduct as excusable neglect or a mistake allowing the set-aside of a default judgment under Ind. Trial Rule 60(B)(1). On Jan. 24, 2019, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that such defendants may be afforded relief under Ind. Trial Rule 60(B)(8) in Fields v. Safway Group Holdings, LLC, which was a split decision – the majority building on a 2015 Indiana Supreme Court decision.