Court of Appeals Holds no Hearing Necessary Prior to Issuing Default Judgment as Sanction for Failing to Comply with Discovery Order

In Mallard's Pointe Condominium Assoc, Inc. v. L & L Investors Group, LLC, the Court of Appeals determined that a trial court need not hold a hearing prior to entering in default judgment as a sanction for failing to comply with a Court Discovery Order. 

As Trial Rule 37 is silent as to whether a hearing is required before a court may sanction by default judgment, the court turned to case law.  The court examined previous Indiana case law finding that Trial Rule 55 governed the procedure for entering default judgments as a discovery sanction but determined that under the present form of Trial Rule 37 a court may enter default judgment with a finding that the remedy is "just."