Two final points on pleading I forgot to mention in class. For your complete information:
• FRCP 55 controls what happens if a defending party fails to respond to a claim (by motion or responsive pleading). FRCP 55 allows for issuance of a default, which the court reduces to a default judgment. A default judgment has the same force and effect as a judgment entered following adversarial litigation and can be enforced the same way.
• FRCP 41 controls when a plaintiff has filed a complaint but does not wish to proceed. She can voluntarily dismiss the suit (some states refer to this as a "nonsuit"), ending the litigation on various terms.
