A default judgment has been granted to Génessis Alarcón, the estranged wife of former Portland Timbers midfielder Andy Polo, in the domestic violence lawsuit she filed, according to documents filed in circuit court for the state of Oregon for Multnomah County.
Such a judgment is granted when the defendant, in this case Polo, fails to respond to a court summons, or otherwise fails to appear in court. Default judgments are not final, and can be vacated if new evidence or reasons for not responding emerge.
The two-page declaration, made on July 12, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, stated, "The Court having reviewed plaintiff's motion for default order against defendant Andy Polo and supporting declaration, it is ordered that the defendant Andy Polo is defaulted in this action."
Polo is currently playing in his native Peru with Lima-based club Universitario Deportes.
According to Michael Fuller, Alarcón's attorney, she will be entitled to $600,000 in damages, but Alarcón may have to wait a while before she collects on the judgment.
Fuller told ESPN via text message that, "So long as [Polo] stays abroad and maintains no assets in the United States, it may be [possible] for him to evade collections for the next 20 years." He added that if Polo does enter the U.S., "We'll seek to execute [seize and sell] his personal property upon arrival."
Polo, 27, is a current Peru international and the judgement could potentially impact his participation at the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The suit was filed last March in federal court, before being refiled in state court. Initially, Polo was the only defendant, but Peregrine Sports LLC, the parent company of the Timbers, was added when the case was refiled. That portion of the case was settled in late March.
Neither Alarcón nor the Washington County district attorney's office opted to pursue criminal charges against Polo.