Legal Definitions - motion for relief from the judgment

A motion for relief from the judgment is a formal request made by one of the parties in a lawsuit, asking the court to change or set aside a final judgment or order that has already been issued. This request is typically made for specific, compelling reasons, such as:

• Correcting a simple error in the written judgment that doesn't accurately reflect what the court actually decided.
• Addressing situations where a party missed a deadline or made a mistake due to an unexpected event or excusable oversight.
• Considering important new evidence that wasn't available and couldn't have been found earlier, despite diligent efforts.
• When the judgment was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the opposing party.
• If the judgment itself is legally invalid or has already been fulfilled.

Here are some examples:

• Example 1: Correcting a Clerical Error

  Imagine a judge rules that a defendant must pay a plaintiff $5,000 in damages. However, when the court clerk types up the official judgment, a typo causes it to state that the defendant owes $50,000. The defendant would file a motion for relief from the judgment to ask the court to correct this obvious clerical mistake, ensuring the written judgment accurately reflects the judge's original decision of $5,000.

• Example 2: Newly Discovered Evidence

  In a property dispute, a homeowner loses their case because they couldn't produce a crucial historical deed during the trial. Weeks after the judgment is finalized, they discover an old, forgotten safe deposit box containing the original, undisputed deed that proves their ownership. This deed was genuinely unknown and inaccessible during the trial despite their best efforts to find all relevant documents. The homeowner could file a motion for relief from the judgment to present this newly discovered evidence, potentially leading the court to reconsider its original ruling.

• Example 3: Excusable Neglect

  A small business owner is sued for breach of contract. Due to a sudden, severe illness requiring emergency hospitalization, they are unable to respond to the lawsuit's deadlines or appear in court, and a default judgment is entered against them. Once recovered, the business owner could file a motion for relief from the judgment, explaining the extraordinary circumstances that led to their inability to participate. If the court finds their neglect to be "excusable," it might set aside the default judgment and allow the case to proceed fairly.