A default judgment can be dismissed or set aside by a court upon a motion from the defendant if they can demonstrate a valid reason for the judgment to be dismissed or set aside.
Some valid reasons for a judgment to be dismissed or set aside are improper service of legal documents, excusable neglect or a meritorious defense to the claim and essentially shows that they had a good reason for not responding to the lawsuit initially and have a legitimate defense against the plaintiff's allegations.
Most judgements do eventually go away after 7 to 10 years depending on the state and the Judgement.
Judgements can however be renewed or discharged through bankruptcy.
For example in California most judgements expire after 10 years, unless the creditor renews the judgment.
Family law judgments, like those from divorce however do not expire.
In other states judgements often last 3 to 7 years, but the length of time depends on the state.
A judgement can be discharged through bankruptcy.
Although a lien may remain in place if the debtor is not entitled to exempt the asset.
Clearing the judgment can be done by paying the debt, vacating the judgment and appeal the court decision.
The debtor can pay the debt in full to satisfy the judgment.
The debtor can also legally challenge the judgment to vacate it.
And the debtor can appeal the court decision with the help of a lawyer.