How to Write a Motion for Relief
| Background: | The Court entered an erroneous order/judgment against you |
| Problem: | You don't know how to get the Court to correct its error |
| Solution: | You file a Motion for Relief (with the help of this guide) |
I. Definitions
2. the determination of a cause in courts of admiralty and probate. It is accurate to use the word judgment for a decision of a court of law, and decree from a court of equity, although the former term now includes both.
II. Legal Citations
(b) Mistakes; Inadvertence; Excusable Neglect; Newly Discovered Evidence; Fraud; etc. On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party’s legal representative from a final judgment, decree, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:
III. Samples
| # | Comments | ₧ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 |  | ✔ Granted! | TBD case | 2024 | Timeliness; Unconstitutionality; Improvidence |  |
| ...more samples coming soon... hitting the like button will raise this on TBD's priority list | |||
| # | Comments | ₧ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | | 2007 | Attorney Filing | Excess Legal Materials; | |
| ...more samples coming soon... hitting the like button will raise this on TBD's priority list | |||
| # | Comments | ₧ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | | 2015 | Attorney Filing | Failure to Serve; Miscalculations; Wrong Dates; | |
| ...more samples coming soon... hitting the like button will raise this on TBD's priority list | |||
IV. Templates
| # | Link | Comments | ₧ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | TBD's Template | Replace all placeholder tags with real data (eg "[plfName]" becomes "John Doe"). |  |
| ...more template versions are available... so, hit the like button to encourage TBD to add additional versions! | |||
V. Application
- Inherent Power: According to the appellate courts, trial courts (eg, your district court) have the "inherent power" to correct their own orders:
"A district court has the inherent power to reconsider and modify its interlocutory orders prior to the entry of judgment, whether they be oral, e.g., United States v. Green, 414 F.2d 1174, 1175 (D.C. Cir. 1969) (trial judge had authority to withdraw oral decision granting defendant’s motion to dismiss indictment), or written, e.g., United States v. Jerry, 487 F.2d 600, 604-05 (3d Cir. 1973) district court had authority to rescind written order improvidently permitting defendant to withdraw guilty plea); cf. United States v. Benz, 282 US 304, 306-07, 51 S.Ct. 113, 114, 75 L.Ed. 354 (1931) (stating general rule that judgments, decrees, and orders in civil or criminal cases may be modified by court within the term in which they were entered), and there is no provision in the rules or any statute that is inconsistent with this power.""
- Abuse of Discretion: clear error/mistake (by the trial court) constitutes an "abuse of discretion"
"Abuse occurs when a material factor deserving significant weight is ignored, when an improper factor is relied upon, or when all proper and no improper factors are assessed, but the court makes a serious mistake in weighing them. See In re San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litigation, 859 F.2d 1007, 1019 (1st Cir. 1988); United States v. Hastings, 847 F.2d 920, 924 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S. Ct. 308, 102 L. Ed. 2d 327 (1988); see generally Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc., 862 F.2d 910, 915 (1st Cir. 1988) (equating abuse of discretion with court's commission of "a meaningful error in judgment")"
- Reversible: the appellate courts also hold that abuses of discretion are reversible on appeal (and/or correctable by the trial court)
“We find, however, that the court below did not give appropriate consideration to appellants' posttrial motion to set aside the judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b)(3). Thus, we remand to the district court for rehearing on that motion...”
- Excusable Neglect: Trial court's are compelled to correct their orders if they were contaminated by 'excusable neglect'
"In Pioneer, the Supreme Court held that when analyzing a claim of excusable neglect, courts should "tak[e] account of all relevant circumstances surrounding the party's omission," including "the danger of prejudice to the [nonmovant], the length of the delay and its potential impact on judicial proceedings, the reason for the delay, including whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant, and whether the movant acted in good faith."
VI. Quick Commentary
- Act swiftly (ie, file this document as soon as you can)
- Generally speaking, the Court's want you to file your 'Motion for Relief' within 28 days of the erroneous order/ruling
"(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.""
- Generally speaking, the Court's want you to file your 'Motion for Relief' within 28 days of the erroneous order/ruling
- Download as many sample documents as you'd like
- learn about TBD's point system
- Also, feel free to use the templates (see Part IV - above) to help draft your 'Motion for Relief'
- Save the final version as a PDF file.
- File it in court (or at DOAH)
VII. Additional Resources
VIII. Bibliography
IX. Conclusion
With the use of the templates (as well as the samples above), you can more easily ask your court to correct/vacate its erroneous/mistaken order.
...POINTS & THINGS...
You can use this to prevent the harms that a faulty order inflicts.
As always - please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
