Loc. R. Civ. P. 55 — Default Judgment
A published court requirement that applies in New York. Category: Local Rules. Effective January 15, 2026. Verified against the official source (W.D.N.Y. — Rules: Individual, Local & Federal (U.S. District Court, Western District of New York)) on November 3, 2026.
Summary
Loc. R. Civ. P. 55 — Default Judgment: the court's own rule, verbatim from the Local Rules of Civil Procedure, United States District Court for the Western District of New York, effective January 15, 2026 (official PDF, sha-custodied). Court-level requirement: applies in every civil case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, alongside the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the rules are numbered to conform to them) and any judge-specific procedures.
Requirement
The procedure for Default Judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 is a two-step process: (a) entry of default by the Clerk of Court (Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a)); and (b) entry of default judgment, by the Clerk of Court when the claim is for a sum certain pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1) and by the Court in all other instances pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2): (a) Entry of Default. The documents required for obtaining entry of default are: (1) Request for Clerk’s Entry of Default; (2) Affidavit (or Declaration) in Support of Request of Entry of Default; (3) Proposed form for Clerk’s Entry of Default; and (4) A Certificate of Service indicating that these documents were served upon defendant. (b) Default Judgment. (1) By the Clerk of Court. A party entitled to a default judgment when the claim is for a sum certain, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1), shall submit to the Clerk of Court: (A) Request for Entry of Default Judgment for Sum Certain; (B) an affidavit by the party seeking default judgment or the party’s attorney showing that: (i) the party against whom judgment is sought is not an infant or an incompetent person; (ii) the party has defaulted in appearance in the action; (iii) the amount shown by the statement is justly due and owing and no part thereof has been paid except as therein set forth; and (iv) the disbursements sought to be taxed have been made in the action or will necessarily be made or incurred therein; (C) a statement showing the principal amount due, which shall not exceed the amount demanded in the complaint, giving credit for any payments and showing the amounts and dates thereof, a computation of the interest to the day of judgment, and the costs and taxable disbursements claimed; (D) a proposed judgment containing the last known address of each judgment creditor and judgment debtor and, if any such address is unknown, an affidavit by the party seeking default judgment or the party’s attorney stating that the affiant has no knowledge of the address; and (E) a Certificate of Service indicating that these documents were served upon the defendant. Upon confirming the submission is in compliance with the Federal and Local Rules, the Clerk of Court shall enter judgment for principal, interest, and costs. (2) By the Court. An application to the Court for the entry of a default judgment, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2), shall reference and include the docket numbers of the Clerk’s Entry of Default and the pleading to which no response has been made. (c) Notwithstanding the above, the Court, on its own initiative, may enter default or direct the Clerk of Court to enter default.
Source of truth
The procedure for Default Judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 is a two-step process: (a) entry of default by the Clerk of Court (Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a)); and (b) entry of default judgment, by the Clerk of Court when the claim is for a sum certain pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1
- Official source
- W.D.N.Y. — Rules: Individual, Local & Federal (U.S. District Court, Western District of New York)
- Source health
- Healthy · checked November 14, 2026
- Effective date
- January 15, 2026
- Last verified
- November 3, 2026benchpath-nyfed-rules-2026-11-03
Related rules
2d Cir. Local Rule 25.2 — Submission of PDF Documents
2d Cir. Local Rule 25.2 — Submission of PDF Documents: the court's own rule, verbatim from the rule's own page on the court's site (read 2026-11-03; the page sha-custodied). Court-level requirement: applies in every appeal and proceeding before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, alongside the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Duval County Local Rules Implementing S.B. 7 (Texas Fair Defense Act) — Order Amending Local Rules of the District/County Court of Duval County, amended July 11, 2022
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.
Starr County Local Rules for the Judicial District Courts (229th and 381st District Courts, applying in part to the County Court at Law; approved May 31, 2018; approved and recommended to the Supreme Court by the Fifth Region's Presiding Judge August 9, 2018)
The 23 local rules of the Starr County district courts: definitions and the election of the Local Administrative District Judge (last Friday in January of odd years; two-year term from February 1); random, equal assignment of district cases and the County Court at Law's share (family cases, civil cases pleading $100,000 or less, misdemeanors); the case-numbering format effective January 1, 2019 (year, CV/CR/CRS/FM/TAX, five digits; CRS for the 229th, CR for the 381st); notice of visiting-judge assignments; electronically transmitted pleadings (cover sheet, seven-day fee window, returns of service and bonds on paper, one-hour clerk handling of child-protection filings); transfer of related civil cases to the earlier court and SAPCR transfer to the divorce court; pre-trial settings through the Court Coordinator; District Clerk duties and I-Docket access; severance; temporary, emergency and ex parte orders; uncontested matters first; assignment of related prosecutions and superseding-indictment numbering (S1, S2); the protocol for trial priority (jury over non-jury, criminal over civil, jailed defendants first, oldest case first, special settings by written reasons, duties of counsel with conflicting settings); court staff; jury impaneling; the ad litem/guardian ad litem/amicus appointment rotation, duties, vouchers within thirty days and objections within thirty days; and courtroom decorum and attire.
Local Rules for the Jim Wells County Court at Law — effective January 1, 2023
The Jim Wells County Court at Law's rules: ad litem, guardian ad litem and amicus appointment lists, qualifications, duties, flat-fee ($275) and hourly ($75–$125) compensation, voucher deadlines and fee objections; rules of administration with the 79th District Court (family-code cases and civil cases between $500 and $250,000 assigned to the County Court at Law); remote non-jury proceedings by Zoom with e-mailed setting requests, Dropbox exhibits and YouTube broadcast; settings, proposed orders, exhibits and courtroom decorum.