Larry v. Harris

¶ 1. We review a decision of the court of appeals1 affirming the circuit court's2 sua sponte vacation of a default judgment against defendant Carlos Rutherford and the circuit court's sua sponte grant of judgment in Rutherford's favor. We conclude that the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion in vacating the default judgment because Wis. Stat. § 806.07(1) (2005-06)3 permits a court to grant relief from a judgment or an order. However, we also conclude that the circuit court did err when it sua sponte granted summary judgment in Rutherford's favor because it failed to give…