Gilbert v. Stancorp Financial Group Inc.

When defendant did not file a timely response to plaintiffs personal injury complaint and summons, plaintiff took a default judgment. On defendant’s motion, the trial court set aside the judgment pursuant to ORCP 71 B(l)(a), which provides that the court “may relieve a party * * * from a judgment for * * * mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” Plaintiff appeals, arguing that the court abused its discretion by providing relief to defendant. We affirm.

As we explain below, but state here in order to put the facts in context, the resolution of this case depends on whether the…