a legitimate excuse for the failure of a party or his/her lawyer to take required
action (like filing an answer to a complaint) on time. This is usually claimed to
set aside a default judgment for failure to answer (or otherwise respond) in the
period set by law. Illness, press of business by the lawyer (but not necessarily
the defendant), or an understandable oversight by the lawyer's staff ("just blame
the secretary") are common excuses which the courts will often accept. However,
if the defendant loses the complaint or fails to call his/her attorney the courts
will be less lenient. In any event, the defendant must also show he/she had some
worthwhile defense.
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