How to Vacate a Default Judgment in Massachusetts Small Claims Court

What a Default Judgment Means for You

If you missed your small claims hearing and the court entered a default judgment, the court sends you a notice of judgment without a payment order and schedules a payment hearing 30 days after judgment or shortly afterward, unless you appeal, the plaintiff waives the hearing, or the plaintiff reports that the judgment is satisfied. Under Massachusetts Uniform Small Claims Rule 7, a clerk-magistrate enters default when the defendant fails to appear at the scheduled trial time. The judgment includes the claimed damages, statutory interest at 12% per year under G.L. c. 231, §§ 6B, 6C, and 6H, and the plaintiff's court costs. The court must hold the payment hearing before issuing any payment order.

A default judgment is not permanent. Massachusetts law provides a specific procedure to ask the court to set it aside — but there are strict requirements and timing matters.

The Rule 8 Motion for Relief from Judgment

Your tool for challenging a default judgment is Mass. Uniform Small Claims Rule 8, which incorporates the standards from Mass. R. Civ. P. 60(b). This rule allows a defendant to file a written Motion for Relief from Judgment asking the court to vacate the default and restore the case for a trial on the merits.

The motion must establish two things:

1. A legitimate reason you missed the hearing — excusable neglect, inadvertence, surprise, or mistake. A documented medical emergency, hospitalization, or genuine lack of notice qualifies. "I forgot" or "I didn't think it was important" generally does not.
2. A meritorious defense to the claim — you must show the court that you have a real, credible defense. If the plaintiff is suing for $3,000 in unpaid contractor work and you have photos of unfinished work plus written change orders showing a different scope, that is a meritorious defense.

The Filing Steps

Draft the motion. Write a formal Motion for Relief from Judgment under Rule 8. Identify the case by docket number, state when the default was entered, and explain your grounds for relief.

Attach a sworn affidavit. The court requires an affidavit signed under the pains and penalties of perjury. The affidavit covers both your reason for missing the hearing and the substance of your defense. Attach supporting documents — a hospital discharge summary, a certified mail return receipt showing you never received the notice, or whatever evidence supports your explanation.

File with the clerk-magistrate's office. Submit the motion and affidavit to the court that entered the default. You can file in person, by mail, or through eFileMA (Tyler Technologies) if the court accepts electronic filings. Self-represented litigants can also file on paper.

Serve the plaintiff. Mail a copy of the motion and affidavit to the plaintiff (or their attorney) and note the date and method of service on your filing.

Attend the hearing. The clerk schedules a hearing on your motion before a judge — not the clerk-magistrate who entered the default. If the judge grants the motion, the default is vacated and the case goes back on the docket for a full hearing. The judge may impose conditions, such as requiring you to reimburse the plaintiff's travel expenses from the original hearing date.

Timing Limits

For motions based on mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, you must file within a reasonable time and no later than one year from the judgment entry date. For motions based on a void judgment (the court never had jurisdiction or service was completely defective) or fraud by the opposing party, the deadline is a "reasonable time" with no fixed outer limit, though courts expect prompt action once you discover the problem.

Filing Does Not Stop Collection

A critical point many defendants miss: filing a Rule 8 motion does not automatically stay execution of the judgment. The plaintiff can continue enforcing the judgment — garnishing wages, levying bank accounts — while your motion is pending. To pause enforcement, you need to file a separate Motion for Stay of Execution and ask the court to halt collection while your relief motion is heard.

When Vacating a Default Is Not Enough

If the one-year window has passed for excusable-neglect grounds, you may still have options if you can show the judgment is void or was obtained through fraud, but the bar is higher.

For defendants who want to understand the full process of responding to a Massachusetts small claim — from reading the initial papers through the hearing and beyond — the Responding to a Small Claims Case in Massachusetts guide walks through each step with worksheets and checklists.

See more Massachusetts guides →