A Default Judgment is a lawsuit against you whenever you fail to respond to a legal complaint. In terms of creditors and debt, the creditors will often file a complaint for a specific amount of money that you owe them. If you fail to respond to this complaint against you, the creditor can file for a default judgment. During a default judgment, you will not be able to defend yourself in any form or fashion without showing a legitimate reason why you did not respond the first time. Once a judge makes a ruling on the default judgment, you must carry out the terms of the sentence. While there are not many ways to stop a default judgment, filing for bankruptcy can offer protection from default judgments via the Automatic Stay. The automatic stay is a court order that stops all lawsuits, foreclosures, repossession, and any other type of collections action taken against you for the duration of your bankruptcy. If you are suffering from a default judgment because of a debt, consider talking to a bankruptcy attorney to see what your debt relief options are.