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People use the word default as if it means a judgment already exists. New Jersey practice separates the concept into two distinct stages. The first stage is the entry of default under Rule 4:43 1. The second stage is a default judgment under Rule 4:43 2. The distinction matters because the legal effect, the available remedies, and the difficulty of fixing the problem change dramatically once judgment enters.

A default judgment is a court judgment entered against a defendant who did not respond to a lawsuit in time. In plain terms, the case moves forward without that defendant participating, and the plaintiff can obtain a judgment that carries the same force as any other judgment. In New Jersey civil cases, default practice is governed primarily by Rule 4:43, and the consequences can be immediate and serious once judgment is entered and collection tools become available.

If your employee handbook has been sitting in a desk drawer collecting dust, you’re not alone. Most small business owners write one when they first hire employees and then forget about it. The problem is that New Jersey employment law doesn’t sit still. Statutes change, agency guidance shifts, and courts look at what your handbook actually says—and whether you followed it—when deciding cases.

New Jersey businesses say “that is confidential” every day. In court, that phrase does not carry a case. Trade secret claims succeed when a company can show, with admissible evidence, that the information stayed secret for a reason, and that the company treated it as secret in a consistent, disciplined way.

Over the years, the Friday the 13th franchise has generated plenty of lawsuits and business fights, but the most important one for creators and rights holders is not about monsters, sequels, or merchandising deals. It is about authorship, leverage, and a part of the Copyright Act that allows certain creators to reclaim rights decades after they signed them away.