Johnson, Johnson, Stokes, Sandberg & Kragness, Ltd. v. Birnbaum

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

The law firm of Johnson, Johnson, Stokes, Sandberg & Kragness, Ltd. [Johnson Law Firm] appealed from a district court order vacating a default judgment for damages against Leonard Birnbaum. We hold the default judgment was not void and, consequently, the district court erred in vacating it under Rule 60(b)(iv), N.D.R.Civ.P. We reverse.

In 1986, attorney A.W. Stokes, an attorney in the Johnson Law Firm, performed legal services for Birnbaum. After Stokes left the firm, it sued Birnbaum for fees allegedly due for Stokes’s legal services. A default judgment was entered…