What Happens If You Miss a Small Claims Hearing in Maine

The Court May Enter a Default Judgment

When a defendant doesn't appear at the scheduled hearing, the court reviews the plaintiff's Statement of Claim and the proof-of-service documents. If service and jurisdiction are valid, the court may enter a default judgment for the relief claimed.

The judgment is effective the day it's entered on the court docket, and the clerk mails you a Notice of Judgment.

What a Default Judgment Can Mean

If the court enters default, the judgment may award the relief claimed in the Statement of Claim and any court costs allowed. Post-judgment interest starts accruing automatically under 14 M.R.S. § 1602-C at the statutory rate (the one-year Treasury bill rate plus 6%, set annually by the State Court Administrator).

Once the judgment is entered, the plaintiff gains access to Maine's post-judgment enforcement tools: disclosure hearings (where you testify under oath about your income and assets), wage garnishment through trustee process, bank account attachment, and writs of execution. These aren't automatic — the plaintiff has to initiate them — but you're now in a fundamentally worse position than if you'd appeared at the hearing.

You Can Ask the Court to Set It Aside

Under Rule 9 of the Maine Rules of Small Claims Procedure, which incorporates Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), you can file a Motion for Relief from Judgment asking the court to vacate the default. You'll need to show two things:

A legitimate reason you missed the hearing. Rule 60(b) lists grounds including mistake, inadvertence, surprise, and excusable neglect. Explain the specific facts and provide any supporting documents; the court decides whether they meet the standard.

A meritorious defense. You can't just get the default removed — you have to show the judge that you have a real defense to the plaintiff's claim. If the plaintiff said you owe $5,000 for work they completed and you have evidence the work was never done, that's a meritorious defense.

How to File a Rule 60(b) Motion

1. Write a motion titled "Motion for Relief from Judgment" addressed to the District Court division that entered the default
2. Include the case number, party names, and the date the default judgment was entered
3. Explain your reason for missing the hearing and describe your defense to the claim
4. Attach supporting documents — medical records, proof of the mailing issue, evidence supporting your defense
5. File the motion with the court clerk and serve a copy on the plaintiff

There's no separate filing fee for the motion, but you'll pay service costs if you use a sheriff or process server.

Time Limits

A Rule 60(b) motion based on excusable neglect must be filed within a reasonable time, and in no case more than one year after the judgment was entered. A motion arguing the judgment is void — for example, because you were never properly served — must be filed within a reasonable time, with no fixed outer limit.

The sooner you file, the better. Courts are more sympathetic to a motion filed weeks after the default than one filed eleven months later.

Filing the Motion Doesn't Stop Enforcement

This catches people off guard. Filing a Rule 60(b) motion does not automatically prevent the plaintiff from pursuing wage garnishment, bank levies, or disclosure hearings. If you need enforcement paused while the court considers your motion, you must separately request an interim stay of enforcement under Rule 10 of the Small Claims Rules and Rule 62 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The Hearing You Didn't Attend Was Your Best Chance

Maine small claims hearings are informal — no formal rules of evidence, no requirement for legal training, testimony in plain language. The threshold for participating is low. A default judgment is almost always worse than any outcome you'd get by showing up and telling your side of the story, even if the plaintiff has a strong case. A judge hearing both sides might reduce the amount, approve a payment plan, or encourage a mediated settlement through the free CADRES service.

The Responding to a Small Claims Case in Maine guide walks through hearing preparation, evidence organization, and the complete post-decision process — including what to do if a default judgment has already been entered.

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