Legal Definitions - restoratory motion

A restoratory motion (also known as a restorative motion) is a formal request made to a court asking it to undo a previous action, decision, or consequence, thereby returning a party or a legal situation to an earlier state. Essentially, it's a plea to the judge to correct an error, reverse a procedural misstep, or set aside an order that has led to an unintended or unjust outcome, with the goal of restoring fairness or the original status quo.

Here are some examples:

• Imagine a situation where a plaintiff's attorney accidentally misses a critical deadline to file an important legal document, leading the court to dismiss their client's entire lawsuit. The attorney could then file a restoratory motion asking the judge to reinstate the case. They would argue that the missed deadline was an excusable oversight, perhaps due to a calendaring error, and that their client should not be unfairly penalized by losing their day in court. The motion seeks to restore the lawsuit to its active status, undoing the dismissal.

• Consider a small business owner who is sued but, due to a postal service error, never receives the official summons and complaint. Unaware of the lawsuit, they naturally fail to respond, and the court subsequently enters a "default judgment" against them, meaning the other side wins automatically. Upon learning of this judgment, the business owner could file a restoratory motion (often specifically called a "motion to vacate default judgment"). This motion would ask the court to set aside the default judgment and allow them to properly defend themselves, thereby restoring their right to participate in the legal process.

• During a complex trial, a key piece of evidence is inadvertently disclosed by one party, even though it was protected by attorney-client privilege. The opposing side then attempts to use this privileged information to their advantage. The party whose privilege was breached could file a restoratory motion. This motion might ask the court to strike the improperly disclosed evidence from the record, instruct the jury to disregard it, or even declare a mistrial, all with the aim of restoring the integrity of the legal process and preventing prejudice caused by the accidental disclosure.