Legal Definitions - extrinsic fraud

Extrinsic fraud refers to a serious act of deception or misrepresentation that occurs outside the formal legal proceedings, but which prevents a party from having a fair opportunity to present their case or defend themselves in court. Unlike fraud that might happen during a trial (like lying under oath), extrinsic fraud involves actions that unfairly keep someone from participating in the legal process at all, or from understanding its true nature. When extrinsic fraud is proven, courts may use their authority to undo a judgment or order to ensure fairness, as the integrity of the legal process itself has been compromised.

• Example 1: Misleading about proper notice. Imagine a landlord wants to evict a tenant. Instead of properly serving the eviction lawsuit papers to the tenant's current address, the landlord intentionally sends them to an old, incorrect address, knowing the tenant no longer lives there. The landlord then proceeds to court and obtains a default judgment for eviction because the tenant never responded. The tenant only discovers the judgment when their belongings are removed. Here, the landlord's deceptive act of providing an incorrect address, which happened outside the court's direct oversight, prevented the tenant from ever knowing about the lawsuit and thus from having any opportunity to defend themselves.

• Example 2: False promises to avoid legal action. Consider a situation where two former business partners have a dispute. One partner tells the other, "Don't worry, I've decided not to sue you. Let's just work this out informally, and I'll drop the whole thing." Based on this assurance, the second partner doesn't hire an attorney or prepare a defense. Meanwhile, the first partner secretly files a lawsuit and obtains a default judgment because the second partner failed to respond to the court summons (which they might have received but ignored, believing the matter was settled). The first partner's deceptive promise, made outside the court proceedings, prevented the second partner from participating in the legal action and presenting their side.

• Example 3: Preventing access to legal counsel. An adult child convinces their elderly parent, who is facing a significant debt collection lawsuit, not to hire a lawyer. The child assures the parent, "I'll handle everything for you; you don't need to go to court or get a lawyer, I'll talk to the collectors." The child then intentionally fails to respond to the lawsuit or inform the parent of deadlines, allowing a default judgment to be entered against the parent. The parent was deprived of their right to legal representation and a defense due to the child's deceptive assurances and interference, which occurred outside the formal court process.