Peay v. Barnett

On its surface, this case seems to involve a simple question-whether the Circuit Court for Baltimore City correctly denied a defendant's motion to vacate a default judgment against her where there was a defect in service of process, but where she likely had actual notice of the proceedings and did not diligently challenge the judgment for more than six years. Logic would suggest an obvious yes. However, relevant caselaw blocks an easy answer here. For the U.S. Supreme Court has said that "[a] defendant is always free to ignore judicial proceedings, risk a default judgment, and then challenge…