Request to annul a judgment in the absence of a defense – an example according to new regulations

The purpose of a motion to set aside a judgment in the absence of a defense is to lead to the annulment of a judgment given against the defendant because the defendant did not file a defense. DefenseThe reason for not filing a defense can be very relevant when the judge decides on the application. For example: if the defendant received the lawsuit legally and does not have a good explanation for why he did not file a defense, and does not have good defense arguments, it is very possible that the application will be rejected and the judgment will not be overturned.

Generally, a motion to set aside a judgment in the absence of a defense must be filed within 30 days of the date the judgment was served on the defendant. This matter is regulated under Regulation 131 of the Civil Procedure Regulations, which states as follows:

131. The court issued a decision ex parte and the party against whom the decision was issued filed a motion to quash. Within thirty days from the date the decision was served on him, the court may annul it, under such conditions as it deems fit; this provision shall not apply to an application to the court under Regulation 33(d).

If the defendant wishes to file a motion to set aside a judgment in the absence of a defense after 30 days from the date the judgment was delivered to him, he must file Request for extension of time for filing a request to annul a judgmentIn such a case, if a request to annul a judgment in the absence of a defense is filed without filing a request to extend the deadline for filing a request to annul a judgment, it is very possible that the request will be rejected outright.

An application to set aside a judgment in the absence of a defense must be drafted in a length not exceeding 5 pages, pursuant to the provisions of Regulation 50(5) of the Civil Procedure Regulations. This application must be accompanied by an affidavit verifying the facts set forth therein. The affidavit must be in a length not exceeding three pages.

Regulation 50(5) states as follows:

(5) The application and the response, each separately, shall not exceed five pages in length, and in the case of an application for interim relief, eight pages; the attached affidavits shall not exceed three pages in length, and in the case of an application for interim relief, six pages; and all this does not include the title;

In addition to the affidavit, a request to annul a judgment in the absence of a defense must be submitted with any relevant document that can help the applicant prove his claims and lead to the actual annulment of the judgment.

Request to annul a judgment in the absence of a defense

In the matter: 

Plaintiff/Respondent: שם + שם משפחה, ת"ז: ____________

N G D

Defendant/Applicant: שם + שם משפחה, ת"ז: _____________
ע"י עוה"ד אדי בליטשטיין (מ.ר. 60023)
13 HaHagana St., Rishon LeZion (Yaron Miller Tower, Office 501) 
Tel: 03-6427876; Fax: 077-4704697

Application deadline: ____________

Request to annul a judgment

In accordance with the decision rendered in the case __________, in which the applicant was granted permission to file a motion to set aside a judgment, the applicant hereby has the honor to file his motion.

The Honorable Court is hereby requested to exercise its jurisdiction under Regulation 131 of theתקסד"א accept the request, and order the Cancellation of a judgment Given on ________, and also, charging the respondent with the costs of this application.

This application is supported by the affidavit of the applicant, his brother, Mr. _____, and his daughter, Ms. _______.

Emphasis is not in the original unless otherwise noted.

These are the reasons for the request:

This is a particularly exceptional case that justifies the annulment of the judgment.

1. The applicant is in insolvency proceedings as of ______. As part of the insolvency proceedings, the respondent seeks repayment from the applicant in the amount of _________ NIS. For debts that are not at all relevant to the applicant.
2. The applicant's insolvency proceedings are so complex that even the trustee appointed as part of the insolvency proceedings agreed with the applicant that, in order to investigate the truth, this proceeding should be conducted on the merits in order to decide the claims of the parties to this proceeding, Otherwise, it is not possible for it to decide the circumstances of the case in the debt claim.
3. Following the trustee's position, on _________ the Honorable Court issued a decision in the case ________ in which The applicant was allowed to file a motion to quash the judgment. ולהמשיך את ההליך בת"א __________.

Appendix 1: The trustee's position and decision dated ___________ in the case ______________.

The conditions for annulment of a judgment rendered in the absence of a defense

• The Supreme Court ruling on the issue of annulment of a judgment in the absence of a defense or appearance states as follows:

This court has determined two grounds that allow the annulment of a judgment rendered in absentia: one, Abrogation of the duty of justice, אשר תופעל במקרים בהם נפל בפסק הדין פגם היורד לשורש ההליך, ותגרור ביטול ללא קשר לגוף פסק הדין ולהצדקתו; והשנייה, ביטול לפי שיקול דעתו של בית המשפט, אשר אמות המידה להפעלתה נוגעות לסיבה שבגינה ניתן פסק הדין במעמד צד אחד (האם הדבר נבע מזלזול, מרשלנות, מתוך אי הבנה או בתום לב) וכן לסיכויי ההליך שעל הפרק (ראו מני רבים: רע"א 2158/15 עיסא נ' סרסור, פסקה 3 [פורסם בנבו] (2.6.2015) (להלן: עניין עיסא); רע"א 1080/19 בכר נ' בודה בתפקידו ככונס נכסים, פסקה 8 [פורסם בנבו] (13.5.2019) (להלן: עניין בכר); רע"א 2172/22 בורנשטיין נ' לוין, פסקה 12 [פורסם בנבו] (26.5.2022) (להלן: עניין בורנשטיין)).

As a general rule, the court's approach when examining requests to annul judgments issued in the absence of a defense or failure to appear is liberal, while imposing expenses on the party that committed the procedural default in order to remedy the damage caused to the other party. (Issa case, ibid.; Bechar case, at paragraph 12; Bornstein case, ibid.).

See: רע"א 4740/22 Joshua Itach v. Sigal Fainero (Published in Nevo, 18.12.2022)

• באופן דומה נקבע על ידי בית המשפט העליון במסגרת רע"א 7127/22 Tarek Abd Elhay v. Saleh Mansour (Published in Nevo, January 29, 2023):

"הסמכות להורות על ביטול החלטה או פסק דין שניתנו במעמד צד אחד קבועה In regulation 131 toתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, התשע"ט-2018. תקנה זו מאפשרת לבית המשפט לבטל החלטה או פסק דין כאמור "בתנאים שייראו לו". בכל הנוגע לביטול פסק דין שניתן בהיעדר הגנה, הבחינה הפסיקה בין שתי עילות ביטול: The first ground is a reversal of the duty of justice, due to a defect in the proceedings that goes to the root of the procedure. In most cases, these are cases where the claim was not lawfully served on the applicant for the reversal..

In our case, it is undisputed that The lawsuit was filed legally. For the applicants, this ground is not up for discussion. The second ground for annulment, relevant to our case, is annulment at the discretion of the court. In this context, two guiding considerations are considered: The first is the reason for the applicant's failure to defend himself - whether as a result of contempt of court, or due to a bona fide mistake, misunderstanding or negligence. The second consideration, which is of greater importance, is the chances of the applicant for annulment defending himself. At the heart of this consideration is the view that there is no point in annulling a judgment if there is no chance that its outcome will change after the investigation of the proceedings. However, in this matter, it is not necessary to prove a solid defense, but it is sufficient to show the existence of a prima facie defense.…"

• From this ruling we learn of two grounds for annulling a judgment in the absence of a defense: 1. Annulment due to the duty of justice; 2. Annulment at the discretion of the court. As will be explained below, the applicant is entitled to annulment of the judgment on the two grounds specified in the Supreme Court ruling.

Annulment of a judgment in the absence of protection from the duty of justice

• One of the cases in which it is determined that a judgment given in the absence of a defense must be annulled is when the statement of claim was not duly served on the applicant for annulment. In the case in question, the statement of claim was not served on the applicant at all.
• עיון בכותרת כתב התביעה יגלה כי מתחת לשמו של המבקש נכתבה הכתובת: "מרח' _________". The applicant has never lived at this address. On the other hand, a review of the motion for a default judgment, the affidavit of service attached to the motion for a default judgment, and the judgment filed by the respondent will reveal that suddenly the address at which they attempted to deliver the statement of claim is __________.
• עיון בסעיף 2 לבקשה למתן פסק דין בהעדר הגנה יגלה כי המשיב טען : "כתב התביעה וההזמנה לדין Delivered to the respondent כדין, ביום ________.".
• In this case, a review of the affidavit of the submitter will reveal that the submitter claimed that he attempted to deliver the statement of claim to the applicant's daughter, and that she allegedly refused to sign the confirmation of delivery (a matter denied). It is already clear that the statement of claim was not delivered to the applicant in the first place, despite what is stated in Section 2 of the motion for a default judgment.
• Furthermore, the applicant's daughter, Ms. _______, did not receive the statement of claim and/or did not refuse to sign the statement of claim and/or did not meet with any messenger who attempted to deliver any documents to her for her father. Under these circumstances, she certainly did not have the opportunity to inform her father of anything that was not disclosed to her.
• During 2021, the Honorable _____ did not live with her father ______ at all, but with her partner _________.
• בעניין זה תקנה 163(ב) לתקסד"א קובעת כך: "If it is not possible to find the recipient, it is sufficient to deliver the document to one of his family members at his home. Those who live with him There and by appearances he was eighteen years old.."
• First, it is not alleged in the application to annul a judgment that it is not possible to find the applicant. Second, the statement of claim was not served on the applicant's daughter, but even if it had been served, the provisions of Regulation 163(b) did not apply, because in _______, the Honorable ______ lived with her partner _______.
• Without derogating from the above, a review of the appendices attached to the motion for a default judgment will reveal that among them appears a picture of the door of the applicant's house. תמוה, בלשון המעטה, שהשליח מטעם המשיב צילם את דלת ביתו של המבקש, אך לא טרח לצלם את ניסיון מסירת כתב התביעה ו/או את המעטפה בסמך לדלת ביתו של המבקש, וזאת במיוחד לנוכח העובדה שעל אישור המסירה נכתב בכתב יד "המסמכים הושארו במקום", אמירה שחזרה על עצמה גם בתצהיר המוסר, וסומנה במלבן.
• The above is sufficient to annul the judgment given ex parte, out of the obligation of justice.

Cancellation of a judgment at the discretion of the court

1. As stated above, the applicant did not file a defense not due to contempt, but because he was simply not aware of the proceedings at all.
2. If the applicant had filed a defense, there is a very high probability that the respondent's claim would have been dismissed out of hand, as will be explained below.

There is no rivalry between the respondent and the applicant.

1. עיון בכותרת כתב התביעה יגלה בה את שמו של המשיב כתובע: "________". עיון בהסכם ההתקשרות המהווה בסיס לתביעת המשיב יגלה כי ההתקשרות היא בין "שותפות החרש" לבין "________".
2. ראשית, "________" והמשיב הן ישויות משפטיות נפרדות. אין המשיב יכול להגיש תביעה במקום או בשם השותפות, ודי בכך כדי לדחות את התביעה על הסף. עניין זה בא לידי ביטוי גם בסעיף 1 לכתב התביעה במסגרתו נכתב במפורש שהתובעת אמורה להיות שותפות החרש ולא המשיב.
3. The engagement agreement does state that _________ is represented by ___________, but this does not detract from the above, and the respondent cannot serve as plaintiff in place of _________. Furthermore, the mere fact that the agreement stipulates that the respondent represents the partnership for the purposes of signing the agreement does not mean that the respondent received permission from the partnership to represent it in this proceeding, and unfortunately, no appropriate authorization in this regard was submitted with the statement of claim. Quite the opposite is true. A review of the power of attorney attached to the statement of claim will reveal that it was not _______ who authorized the power of attorney of the respondent, but the respondent himself, and as stated, there is not and was not any authorization before this honorable court from the outset indicating that _________ allowed the respondent to appoint any lawyers for the purpose of conducting this proceeding.
4. Even submitting certificates at the response stage to this request will not cure the defect that goes to the root of the procedure, and in fact requires the dismissal of the claim outright.
5. נראה כי עם השנים המשיב הבין את טעותו והגיש כנגד המבקש תביעה נוספת (ת"א __________), הפעם ביחד עם אנשים נוספים שלכאורה כולם בשם ____________.

Appendix 2: כתב תביעה במסגרת תפ"מ ____________ ונסח הטאבו שצורף אליו.

• עיון בנסח הטאבו שצורף לכתב התביעה במסגרת תפ"מ ____________ יגלה כי ישנם גופים נוספים להם יש זכויות במגרש נשוא התביעה שכלל לא מפורטים בכתב התביעה, לדוגמה חברת ___________. בשעה שלא ברור מהי אותה שותפות החרש, ומיהם בדיוק שותפיה, לא יתכן מצב שבו המשיב ינהל תביעה מסוג זה לבדו.
• The statement of claim in this proceeding also mentions a person named Mr. _________, but no affidavit on his behalf was submitted (contrary to the respondent's affidavit), and everything written about Mr. ___________ in the statement of claim and in the affidavit attached to the statement of claim is, at most, hearsay evidence. Even the correspondence that allegedly took place between Mr. ____________ and the applicant was not attached to the statement of claim (and in any case, they are denied).

The applicant did not sign the agreement attached to the statement of claim.

• The respondent attributes debts to the applicant for rent based on the contract agreement attached to the statement of claim. However, the applicant never negotiated with the respondent and did not sign the agreement attached to the statement of claim, neither at the beginning of the contract nor when the contract was extended.
• The applicant's father and his brother, and only they, were involved in everything related to signing the agreement and extending the rental period. These matters arise clearly from the agreement itself.
• ראשית, כאמור לעיל, ההתקשרות היא בין _________ לבין "____________". The applicant's father's name is __________. The ID card listed above belongs to him. The applicant's father's address was _____________. All contact information (name, ID number, address) leads to the applicant's father and not to the applicant.
• From this it is clear that the applicant's name, and only his name, was included in the agreement, And this was also done without his knowledge and/or consent.
• If the contract had been made with the applicant, his father's name would not have been mentioned, the correct ID card of the applicant himself would have been indicated, and the applicant's address, not his father's address, would have been detailed.
• This is also the reason why all the letters sent by the respondent, and which were attached to the statement of claim, did not reach the applicant (see delivery confirmations attached as Appendices B - C to the statement of claim).
• אם לא די בכך שההסכם מתייחס לאביו של המבקש, ולא למבקש, שהחתימות אינן של המבקש, הרי ששמו של אחיו של המבקש מוזכר כמי שאישר את הארכת ההסכם (ראו בתחתית עמוד 5 להסכם ההתקשרות כתוב במפורש "____________").
• Under these circumstances, the applicant believes that his chances of defense are very good, and there is even a significant chance that the lawsuit will be dismissed outright, if and to the extent that the Honorable Court orders the acceptance of this application and the annulment of the judgment.

Another relevant consideration – the respondent is taking proceedings against the applicant with the aim of taking control of the applicant's apartment.

• עניין נוסף שמצדיק את ביטולו של פסק הדין הוא המניע שמוביל את המשיב לנהל במשך שנים הליכים רבים כנגד המבקש (ראו לדוגמה: ת"א _________, ת"א _________ המוזכר בהחלטת בית המשפט הדן בתיק חדלות פירעון, וכן, תביעת החוב שהוזכרה באותו התיק).
• The respondent has been conducting futile proceedings against the applicant for many years. But only because he wants to take control of the applicant's apartment in order to sell it and pay off the debts incurred by the applicant's brother.. ב"כ המשיב חזר ואמר זאת הן למבקש עצמו והן לאחיו של המבקש בהזדמנויות שונות ורבות.
• For years, the respondent has refrained from filing claims against the applicant's father and against the applicant's brother, even though their details and signatures are listed on the contract agreement, Because they are without assets and the respondent knows that the likelihood that he will be able to repay them is not high.
• בכל הכבוד הראוי למשיב, התנהלותו היא דוגמה קיצונית לשימוש לרעה בהליכי משפט, ומנוגדת לתקנות 3 – 5 לתקסד"א. עניין זה מצטרף לשיקולי הצדק שעל בית המשפט לשקול.
• Under these circumstances, the judgment should be ordered to be annulled in order to allow the applicant to present all of his evidence and arguments, and to prevent the respondent from continuing to abuse legal proceedings.

In conclusion

• The lawsuit was not initially served on the applicant (nor on his daughter, who did not even live with the applicant in ________).
• The applicant has excellent defenses that could even lead to the lawsuit being dismissed out of hand due to the lack of adversarial status and/or the respondent's lack of authority to file the lawsuit on behalf of another legal entity.
• The details detailed on the agreement, including the signatures, do not belong to the applicant but to his father and brother.
• The only reason that the respondent has been waging an all-out war against the applicant for years is the respondent's desire to take control of the applicant's apartment in order to sell it. There is no other explanation why for years not a single proceeding has been taken against the applicant's father and/or brother, even though their details and signatures appear on the agreement.
• The trustee appointed in the applicant's insolvency proceedings also agreed with the applicant's claims that his claims must be investigated on the merits in order to arrive at the truth.
• In light of all of the above, this Honorable Court is hereby requested to order the acceptance of the request, the annulment of the judgment rendered in the absence of a defense, and the imposition of significant legal costs on the respondent.

_________________
אדי בליטשטיין, עו"ד
ב"כ המבקש