Motion for reconsideration in United States District Court

A motion for reconsideration in United States District Court is the topic of this blog post.   

 This motion is technically known as a motion to alter or amend judgment and is authorized by the provisions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e).

This motion must be filed within 28 calendar days after the judgment is entered.  However if used in appropriate situations filing a motion to alter or amend a judgment can be an effective strategy. This motion has another advantage in that a timely-filed motion extends the time to file a notice of appeal under the provisions of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a) until the entry of the order disposing of the motion.

District courts have the power to “alter or amend” a judgment by motion under FRCP 59(e).   The deadline for filing a Rule 59(e) motion is the same as a motion for new trial as FRCP 59(e) states that, “(e) Motion to Alter or Amend a Judgment. A motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment.”

Although FRCP 59(e) does not state any specific grounds for relief the Courts have ruled that a motion is proper where there is newly discovered evidence, the judgment is based on a clear error committed by the Court or is manifestly unjust, or an intervening change in controlling law since the date of entry of judgment.

Depending on the circumstances of any particular case a party may actually have more than 28 calendar days to file a Rule 59(e) motion as in order to start the clock running on the 28 day deadline requires a final judgment requiring a separate document under Rule 58(a) which is considered entered when the judgment is both entered in the civil docket under Rule 79(a) and either (a) it is set forth on a separate document or (b) 150 days have run from entry of the judgment in the civil docket, whichever occurs first. See Rule 58(c)(2).

The moving party must meet their burden of showing sufficient facts and evidence to support their grounds and must show that a miscarriage of justice will result if the judgment is not altered or amended.

For example a party requesting to alter or amend a judgment on the grounds of newly discovered evidence must show that the newly discovered evidence was not available at the time of the judgment being challenged or if the evidence was available at the time of the judgment being challenged that the party or counsel made a diligent effort to discover the evidence but was unsuccessful.

Any party requesting to alter or amend a judgment on the grounds of a clear error committed by the Court or that the judgment is manifestly unjust must show extreme prejudice as a result of the alleged error or otherwise show that the judgment is somehow manifestly unjust.

Lastly any party requesting to alter or amend the judgment on the grounds of an intervening change in controlling law must specifically state the particular controlling law that has been changed since the date of entry of the judgment and also the effect that change has had on the validity of the judgment.

Attorneys or parties that would like to view a portion of a 13 page sample motion to alter or amend a judgment in United States District Court containing brief instructions, a memorandum of points and authorities with citations to case law and statutory authority, sample declaration and proof of service by mail sold by the author can see below. 

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The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal that has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation.

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.