In
law, a
motion to set aside judgment is an application to overturn or set aside a
court's
judgment,
verdict or other final ruling in a case. Such a
motion is proposed by a party who is dissatisfied with the end result of a
case. Motions may be made at any time after entry of judgment, and in some circumstances years after the case has been closed by the courts. Generally the motion cannot be based on grounds which were previously considered when deciding a motion for new trial or on an appeal of the judgment, thus the motion can only be granted in unusual circumstances, such as when the judgment was procured by
fraud which could not have been discovered at the time of the trial, or if the court entering the judgment lacked the
jurisdiction to do so.
Motions to set aside judgments entered in civil cases in the
United States district courts are governed by Rule 60 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (see below). The rule is quite straightforward; its court room application is mostly exactly as stated.
Motions to set aside judgment in criminal cases are rare: in U.S. jurisprudence the writ of
habeas corpus is the usual method of attacking a criminal conviction after the right of
appeal has been exhausted.
Rule 60. Relief from Judgment or Order
(a) Clerical Mistakes.
Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders or other parts of the record and errors therein arising from oversight or omission may be corrected by the court at any time of its own initiative or on the motion of any party and after such notice, if any, as the court orders. During the pendency of an appeal, such mistakes may be so corrected before the appeal is docketed in the appellate court, and thereafter while the appeal is pending may be so corrected with leave of the appellate court.
(b) Mistakes; Inadvertence; Excusable Neglect; Newly Discovered Evidence; Fraud, Etc.
On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party's legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a
new trial under Rule 59(b); (3) fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application; or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment. The motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1), (2), and (3) not more than one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken. A motion under this subdivision (b) does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation. This rule does not limit the power of a court to entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding, or to grant relief to a defendant not actually personally notified as provided in Title 28, U.S.C., § 1655, or to set aside a judgment for fraud upon the court. Writs of coram nobis, coram vobis, audita querela, and bills of review and bills in the nature of a bill of review, are abolished, and the procedure for obtaining any relief from a judgment shall be by motion as prescribed in these rules or by an independent action.
See also:
appeal
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a "civil action", as opposed to a criminal action).
..... Click the link for more information.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) are rules governing civil procedure in United States district (federal) courts, that is, court procedures for civil suits. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then approved
..... Click the link for more information.
The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) are the rules of Court governing civil cases in the Court of Appeal, High Court and County Court in England and Wales. They apply to all cases commenced after 26 April 1999, and largely replace the Rules of the Supreme Court and the County Court
..... Click the link for more information.
Civil procedure doctrines are rules developed by case law as opposed to being set down in codes or legislation, which, together with court rules and codes, define the steps that a person involved in a civil lawsuit can (or can not) take.
..... Click the link for more information.
jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak") is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to
..... Click the link for more information.
In civil procedure, the subject-matter jurisdiction of a court determines the kinds of claims or disputes over which it has jurisdiction, or the power to render a decision.
..... Click the link for more information.
In United States law, diversity jurisdiction is a concept used in civil procedure to refer to the situation in which a U.S. (federal) district court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case due to the parties being "diverse" in citizenship, generally indicating that
..... Click the link for more information.
Personal jurisdiction in United States law refers to a court's power over a particular defendant (in personam jurisdiction) or an item of property (in rem jurisdiction).
..... Click the link for more information.
In the United States, removal jurisdiction refers to the power of a defendant to move a lawsuit filed in state court to the Federal district court of the original court's district.
..... Click the link for more information.
Venue is the location where a case is heard. In the United States, the venue is either a county (for cases in state court) or a district or division (for cases in federal court). Each case can only be brought in certain venues.
..... Click the link for more information.
A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publicity about a crime and/or defendant(s)
..... Click the link for more information.
Forum non conveniens (Latin for "inconvenient forum" or "inappropriate forum") is a discretionary power of mostly common law courts to refuse to hear a proceeding that has been brought before it.
..... Click the link for more information.
highly specialized aspect of its associated subject.
Please help [ improve this article] by adding more general information.
In law, a
pleading is one of the papers filed with a court in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer.
..... Click the link for more information. A legal motion is a procedural device in law to bring a limited, contested matter before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case.
..... Click the link for more information.
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person (defendant etc.) of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal.
..... Click the link for more information.
In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government, etc. Under common law, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the basic facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party (the
..... Click the link for more information.
In the law, a cause of action (sometimes called a claim) is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue. The phrase is also used to reference the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings suit (such as breach of contract, battery, or false imprisonment).
..... Click the link for more information.
The title
Class Action refers to multiple works (see
class action for the legal term):
- Class Action, a 1991 film starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
- Class Action
..... Click the link for more information. The U.S. Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. Sections 1332(d), 1453, and 1711-1715, expanded federal jurisdiction over many large class-action lawsuits and mass actions.
The bill was the first major legislation in the second term for the Bush Administration.
..... Click the link for more information.
In common law civil procedure, a demurrer is a pleading by the defendant that contests the legal sufficiency of the complaint without admitting or denying the allegations therein. Demurs are usually filed at the beginning of a case.
..... Click the link for more information.
answer (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear) was originally a solemn assertion in opposition to some one or something, and thus generally any counter-statement or defence, a reply to a question or objection, or a correct solution of a problem.
..... Click the link for more information.
Criminal law
Part of the common law series
Elements of crimes
Actus reus · Causation · Concurrence
Mens rea · Intention (general)
Intention in English law · Recklessness
..... Click the link for more information.
The reply is a response by plaintiff to defendant's answer. A reply occurs only when defendant has asserted a counterclaim or the court has ordered a reply.
It is important to keep in mind that "plaintiff" in this context may also refer to an impleaded party.
..... Click the link for more information.
A Counterclaim is made by the defendant to a civil proceeding, in a main actions against the plaintiff or against the plaintiff and other people. This claim may be an attempt to offset or reduce the amount/implications of the plaintiff's original claim against the defendant, or it
..... Click the link for more information.
A cross-claim is a claim brought against a co-party in the same side of a lawsuit. That is, a plaintiff brings a claim against another plaintiff, or a defendant brings a claim against another defendant.
U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. Joinder is a legal term which refers to the inclusion of additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment. In English law, charges for any offence may be joined in the same indictment if those charges are founded on the same facts, or form or are a part of a series of
..... Click the link for more information.
Impleader is a procedural device before trial in which one party joins a third party into a lawsuit because that third party is liable to an original defendant: for example, in a case where a driver rear-ended another car due to faulty brakes, and is sued by the accident victim,
..... Click the link for more information.
Interpleader is a form of action originally developed under equity jurisprudence. It allows a plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit in order to compel two or more other parties to litigate a dispute.
..... Click the link for more information.
In law, intervention is a procedure to allow nonparties to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original litigants.
..... Click the link for more information.
trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute.
..... Click the link for more information.