Sprung v. Negwer Materials, Inc.

A fundamental tension exists in the law relating to default judgments. The law favors resolution of conflicts; it also seeks after justice. It is from the failure of the law to do justice in every circumstance that equity has emerged. From the fourth century B.C., the words of the philosopher describe equity’s purpose. “For that which is equitable seems to be just, and equity is justice that goes beyond the written law.” Aristotle, Rhetoric, 1374 Loeb Classical Library (1935).

In 1985, this Court decided Barney v. Suggs, 688 S.W.2d 356 (Mo. banc 1985). Prompted by that decision, which…