Arizona Court of Appeals Division One holds that Rule 55 requires plaintiffs seeking default judgment to serve known attorneys of defendants.

A terminated employee sued her former employer.  The employee affected service through her former employer’s statutory agent.  With no response from the employer, the employee applied for and received a default judgment in the amount of $1,050,204.  The employer later moved to set aside the default.  The trial court granted the employer’s motion on grounds that the employee failed to provide notice to the employer’s known attorney under Rule 55(a)(2)(D).

The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Rule 55(a)(2)(D)’s requirement to serve known attorneys is a necessary step in securing a default judgment.

Judge Portley authored the opinion in which Judges Winthrop and Swann joined.