Olive v. Malouf, 94 So. 3d 1254

Malouf agreed to buy about 46 acres from Taylor, Gilner, and Shine for $77,400 in May 2007.
Taylor, Gilner, and Shine later conveyed the property to Olive on June 21, 2007 for $10,000.
Malouf sued Olive and the others in 2007 to enforce the contract and set aside the deed; Olive was served but did not answer.
Malouf sought a default judgment; the chancellor granted relief and set aside the conveyance to Olive, vesting Malouf with title.
Olive moved under Rule 60(b) to set aside the default judgment; the chancellor denied relief.
On appeal, the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed the denial, concluding no abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Rule 60(b) relief was properly denied	Olive argues relief was warranted due to improper service/void judgment	Malouf contends Olive had notice, no valid defenses, and prejudice to Malouf if set aside	No abuse; denial affirmed
Whether Olive presented a colorable defense to the merits	Olive claims a meritorious defense exists	Olive did not present sworn evidence establishing a defense	No colorable defense; prong favors Malouf
Whether Olive's default prejudice Malouf if the default were set aside	Prejudice to Malouf would be minimal or non-existent	Malouf would suffer prejudice from renewed ownership dispute	Malouf would be prejudiced; prong favors Malouf

Guar. Nat'l Ins. Co. v. Pittman, 501 So.2d 377 (Miss. 1987) (lack of confusion about service supports denial of relief)
Leach v. Shelter Ins. Co., 909 So.2d 1283 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005) (abuse of discretion standard for setting aside default)
Rogillio v. American States Ins. Co., 10 So.3d 463 (Miss. 2009) (three-pronged balancing test for Rule 60(b) relief)
American Cable Corp. v. Trilogy Communications, Inc., 754 So.2d 545 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (colorable defense must be shown by sworn evidence)
H & W Transfer & Cartage Serv. v. Griffin, 511 So.2d 895 (Miss. 1987) (default admits well-pleaded facts; need defense in sworn form)