Yvette Wright and Shannon Delores Mann were involved in an automobile collision. Wright filed an action against Mann on April 12, 2004, and served Mann with the legal papers on April 19, 2004. Mann claims she faxed the documents to her insurance carrier, however Mann never confirmed that her insurance carrier had received the documents, and her insurance company contends it did not receive the documents. No answer was filed. Wright moved for an entry of default judgment, which was granted by the trial court. On July 12, 2004, Mann filed a motion to set aside the entry of default judgment, which the trial court granted based on a finding of excusable neglect. Wright appeals the trial court’s order setting aside the entry of default. We find that the court’s order setting aside the default was an abuse of discretion because Mann’s actions failed to demonstrate excusable neglect as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-55 allows a default to be opened on one of three grounds if four conditions are met. The three grounds are: 1 providential cause, 2 excusable neglect, and 3 proper case. The four conditions are: 1 a showing made under oath, 2 an offer to plead instanter, 3 announcement of ready to proceed with trial, and 4 setting up a meritorious defense. Whether to open the default on one of these three grounds rests within the discretion of the trial judge.1
Our sole function as an appellate court reviewing a trial court’s grant of a motion to open default is to determine whether all the conditions set forth in OCGA § 9-11-55 have been met and, if so, whether the trial court abused its discretion based on the facts peculiar to each case.2 In this case, Wright contends Mann’s failure to answer was not due to excusable neglect and that Mann failed to establish a meritorious defense. We need not reach the issue of whether Mann asserted a meritorious defense because we find that the case must be reversed because the trial court abused its discretion in concluding that Mann’s failure to answer was due to excusable neglect.
