US · rules
S.D.N.Y. Local Civil Rule 55.2
Default Judgment
(a) In addition to following the applicable procedures in either (b) or (c) below, any
party seeking a default judgment must file:
(1) an affidavit or declaration showing that:
(A) the clerk has entered default under Local Civil Rule 55.1;
(B) the party seeking default judgment has complied with the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50a U.S.C. § 521; and
(C) the party against whom judgment is sought is not known to be a minor
or an incompetent person, or, if seeking default judgment by the court,
the minor or incompetent person is represented by a general guardian,
conservator, or other fiduciary who has appeared.
(2) if proceeding by motion, the papers required by Local Civil Rule 7.1,
including a memorandum of law, a proposed order detailing the proposed
judgment to be entered; and
(3) a certificate of service stating that all documents in support of the request for
default judgment, including the “Clerk’s Certificate of Default” and any
papers required by this rule, have been personally served on, or mailed to the
last known residence (for an individual defendant) or business address (for
other defendants) of, the party against whom default judgment is sought.
If the mailing is returned, a supplemental certificate of service must be filed
setting forth that fact, together with the reason provided for return, if any.
(b) By the Clerk (available under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1)). If the claim to which no
response has been made seeks payment only of a sum certain or a sum that can be
made certain by computation and does not seek attorney’s fees or other
substantive relief, the party seeking default judgment, must file, in addition to the
documents listed in (a) above, an affidavit or declaration from someone with
personal knowledge showing the principal amount due and owing, not exceeding
the amount sought in the claim to which no response has been made, plus interest,
if any, computed by the party, with credit for all payments received to date clearly
set forth, and costs, if any, under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. Upon confirming that the
submission complies with the federal and local rules, the clerk must enter
judgment for principal, interest, and costs. The clerk cannot enter judgment
against a minor or incompetent person.
(c) By the Court (available under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2)). In addition to the matters
required in section (a), above, the party must file a statement of damages, sworn or
affirmed to by one or more people with personal knowledge, in support of the
request, showing the proposed damages and the basis for each element of
damages, including interest, attorney’s fees, and costs.
For relevant historical context for this local rule, consult the Appendix of Committee Notes.
History
PRE-2024 COMMITTEE NOTE Although Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b) does not require service of notice of an application for a default judgment upon a party who has not appeared in the action, the Committee believes that experience has shown that mailing notice of such an application is conducive to both fairness and efficiency and has therefore recommended a new Local Civil Rule 55.2(c) providing for such mailing. 2024 COMMITTEE NOTE The Committee has amended Local Civil Rule 55.2 to clarify the materials that should be filed when a party seeks a default judgment. Local Civil Rule 55.2 is also amended to reflect current practices regarding the entry of a default judgment.
Provenance
- Source
- www.nysd.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-18
- Edition
- fed-district-2026-09-18
- Content hash
54d41720a068c692ee9b13f026d12f41d42a660b88576861adc951a10582ef77
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