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Question
In a civil action for damages arising from a breach of contract, summons was served by substituted service at the defendant's corporate office on March 15, left with a security supervisor who is not in charge of the office. The defendant did not file an answer or appear by the deadline. The plaintiff moves for entry of default and, after due notice, the court declares the defendant in default and proceeds to trial. The defendant, now represented by new counsel, moves to set aside the default, contending that substituted service on the security supervisor is invalid because the supervisor is not a person in charge of the address. The court denies the motion. (a)State the controlling doctrine and its essential requisites for declaring a defendant in default under these circumstances. (b)Apply these requisites to the facts and determine whether the court properly declared the defendant in default. (c)If the defendant moves to set aside the default, state the standard for relief and assess whether the motion should be granted given these facts.