In Milestone Operating Inc v. ExxonMobil Corp. (11-0647) the Supreme Court just issued a unanimous decision that reversed two courts and granted a new trial to to the defendant.
In a breach of contract case, the plaintiff, ExxonMobil, obtained a default judgment against the defendant company after it had been served and failed to answer the allegations within the required time period. The defendant lost its bid for a new trial at the trial and appellate level and appealed to the Supreme Court.
Even though the process server and his fiancee testified that the defendant’s registered agent was properly handed the suit documents, the agent said that he did not remember getting them, so the Court accepted his excuse.
Again, the Supreme Court does back flips to help the defendant, even when the plaintiff is one of the largest corporations in the world and presumably friends with the Court.