Legal Definitions - motion for resettlement

A motion for resettlement is a formal request made to a court to correct or clarify a previously issued written order or judgment. This type of motion is used when there is a clerical error, an omission, or an ambiguity in the written document that does not accurately reflect the court's actual decision or ruling. It is important to understand that a motion for resettlement is *not* used to ask the judge to change their mind about the substance of their decision, but rather to ensure the written record precisely matches what the court intended to order.

Here are a few examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Correcting a Property Description

  Imagine a divorce case where the judge orally ruled that the marital home, located at "123 Oak Street," would be awarded to one spouse. However, when the final written judgment was drafted and signed, it mistakenly listed the property as "123 Oakhaven Drive" due to a typographical error by the court clerk. The affected spouse would file a motion for resettlement to ask the court to correct the written judgment to accurately reflect the correct address, "123 Oak Street," without changing the judge's decision about who receives the property.

• Example 2: Adding an Omitted Condition

  Consider a business dispute where a judge issued a verbal ruling from the bench, stating that Company A must pay Company B $50,000, and also explicitly added that Company A must provide proof of payment within 30 days. When the written order was later prepared, it included the $50,000 payment requirement but inadvertently omitted the condition about providing proof of payment within 30 days. Company B could file a motion for resettlement to request that the court amend the written order to include the previously stated condition, ensuring the document fully captures the judge's original instructions.

• Example 3: Clarifying an Ambiguous Deadline

  In a civil case, a judge issued an order requiring a party to submit certain documents "by the end of the month." The opposing party then realized that the current month had only a few days left, making it an extremely tight and potentially unreasonable deadline, especially since the judge's verbal comments during the hearing suggested a more flexible timeframe. To avoid confusion or dispute over the exact deadline, a party might file a motion for resettlement to ask the court to clarify the written order, perhaps by specifying an exact date or a more precise timeframe (e.g., "within 30 days of the date of this order") that aligns with the court's actual intent.