Our supreme court "has been clear that default judgments are not favored." Id. (quoting BB Buggies Inc. v. Leon , 150 So. 3d 90, 101 (¶22) (Miss. 2014) ). "In particular, ‘courts should not be grudging in vacating such judgment where showings within the rules have arguably been made.’ "
Therefore, we reverse the chancery court and remand this case for further proceedings. See BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon, 150 So. 3d 90, 101 (¶23) (Miss. 2014). FACTS
"Sufficiency of service of process is a jurisdictional issue, which is reviewed de novo." BB Buggies Inc. v. Leon , 150 So.3d 90, 95 (¶ 6) (Miss. 2014).¶ 7. McCubbins filed his complaint alleging negligence and breach of contract in circuit court on January 16, 2015.
When ruling on a Rule 60(b) motion to set aside a default judgment, the trial court must consider a three-part balancing test. BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon, 150 So.3d 90, 101 (Miss.2014). The trial court must determine (1) “the nature and legitimacy of the defendant's reasons for his default, i.e., whether the defendant has good cause for default,” (2) “whether the defendant in fact has a colorable defense to the merits of the claim,” and (3) “the nature and extent of prejudice which may be suffered by the plaintiff if the default judgment is set aside.”
The Mississippi Supreme Court has articulated a "three-prong test" in determining whether to set aside a default judgment. First, "the trial court must consider ‘(1) the nature and legitimacy of the defendant's reasons for his default, i.e. whether the defendant has good cause for default[.]’ " BB Buggies Inc. v. Leon , 150 So. 3d 90, 101 (¶23) (Miss. 2014) (quoting Rogillio , 10 So. 3d at 468 (¶10) ). The second prong is "whether the defendant in fact has a colorable defense to the merits of the claim[.]" Id.
Kuebler v. State, 204 So.3d 1220, 1227-28 (¶ 18) (Miss. 2016). The Kuebler Court relied on the Court's opinion in BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon, 150 So.3d 90 (Miss. 2014), and described the Leon Court's treatment of counsel's representations as follows:
In BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon , several defendants appealed a trial court's refusal to set aside a default judgment in a products-liability suit. BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon , 150 So.3d 90, 94–5 (Miss. 2014). To establish the colorable defense necessary to set aside the default judgment, the defendants' attorney read from a product manual but never put that manual in evidence.
Joshua Properties LLC v. D1 Sports Holdings LLC , 130 So. 3d 1089, 1092 (¶8) (Miss. 2014). "A court must have jurisdiction ... in order to enter a default judgment against a party .... Otherwise, the default judgment is void .... If a default judgment is void, [then] the trial court has no discretion and must set the judgment aside." BB Buggies Inc. v. Leon , 150 So. 3d 90, 95 (¶6) (Miss. 2014).DISCUSSION
Capital One Servs. v. Rawls, 904 So.2d 1010, 1018 (Miss. 2004), overruled on other grounds, BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon, 150 So.3d 90 (Miss. 2014). Unliquidated damages are "damages that have been established by a verdict or award but cannot be determined by a fixed formula, so they are left to the discretion of the judge or jury." Moeller v. Am. Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co., 812 So.2d 953, 959-60 (Miss. 2002) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Because Mississippi's rules are generally modeled after the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Mississippi courts often find federal authority persuasive when considering similar Mississippi rules. BB Buggies, Inc. v. Leon, 150 So.3d 90, 96 (Miss.2014); Middleton, 480 So.2d at 1156. According to the amended complaint for interpleader, the stake in the interpleader action was the “proceeds of [the] contract between McMillan–Pitts and Tackett”—$19,445.16.