Legal Definitions - motion to alter or amend the judgment

A motion to alter or amend the judgment is a formal request made by one of the parties in a lawsuit, asking the court to change a final decision (judgment) it has already issued. This type of motion is specifically designed to correct significant, substantive errors in the judgment itself, rather than minor clerical mistakes like typos or administrative oversights.

Parties typically file this motion when they believe the court made a clear mistake of law or fact that directly impacted the outcome of the case. For instance, if the judge applied the wrong legal standard, misinterpreted crucial evidence, or if new, critical evidence that was genuinely unavailable during the trial has recently come to light. In federal courts, this motion must be filed very quickly, usually within ten days after the judgment is officially recorded, highlighting its urgency and specific purpose.

Here are some scenarios where a party might file a motion to alter or amend the judgment:

• Example 1: New Legal Precedent

  Imagine a small business was ordered to pay a large fine for violating a specific environmental regulation. A few days after the judgment was issued, the state's highest court published a new, binding interpretation of that exact regulation in an unrelated case. This new interpretation clarifies that the regulation does not apply to businesses of that size or type. The small business could file a motion to alter or amend the judgment, arguing that the court's original decision was based on a now-incorrect understanding of the law, as clarified by the higher court. This illustrates correcting a "manifest error of law" due to an intervening change or clarification in legal precedent.

• Example 2: Overlooked Crucial Evidence

  Consider a property dispute where the court ruled in favor of one neighbor based on the presented property lines. Shortly after the judgment, the losing neighbor discovers an old, previously unknown survey map from the county archives that definitively shows the property line is actually different, and this map was not discoverable through reasonable diligence before or during the trial. The neighbor could file a motion to alter or amend the judgment, presenting this newly discovered, critical evidence that fundamentally changes the factual basis of the court's decision. This demonstrates using the motion for "newly discovered evidence" that was unavailable at trial and impacts the judgment's substance.

• Example 3: Factual Miscalculation in Damages

  In a breach of contract case, a court awards a specific amount of damages to the plaintiff. However, the defendant's legal team reviews the judgment and realizes that the judge, in calculating the damages, mistakenly used a profit margin of 20% when all the evidence presented at trial, including the contract itself, clearly established a 15% profit margin. This error significantly inflates the damages awarded. The defendant would file a motion to alter or amend the judgment to correct this substantive factual error in the calculation, which directly impacts the financial outcome. This is an example of addressing a "manifest error of fact" that leads to an incorrect substantive result in the judgment.