Re: What is a Motion to Vacate?
Motion to Vacate Judgment/Order (CR 60)
What is a Motion to Vacate?
A Motion To Vacate is a request to the court to withdraw a previous order or judgment it entered. It has to be based on one of the specific reasons set forth in Civil Rule 60. A Motion to Vacate may be filed in Superior Court or in a court of limited jurisdiction such as district court.
Generally, a Motion To Vacate will be granted if you are able to convince the court that you did not have a fair opportunity to present your case. If you had such an opportunity, then you should not file a Motion to Vacate as it is not a way to ask the court to change its mind or reconsider the evidence or law.
A Motion to Vacate is not a substitute for an appeal. An appeal, generally, must be filed within 30 days from the date a judgment or order is entered. An appeal is a request to a higher court to change the decision made by a lower court. A Motion to Vacate asks the same court to change its decision.
A Motion To Vacate is a rarely granted motion. Before filing such a motion, you should make sure that you have solid legal grounds for the motion. If you file a Motion To Vacate without having a good legal reason to do so, the court may conclude your motion is frivolous and order you to pay the other side's costs, including attorney's fees.
Before filing a Motion To Vacate, we recommend that you talk to an advocate on the CLEAR toll-free legal services advice line (1-888-201-1014), or to another lawyer or legal services provider.
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What are some of the reasons that a court would grant a Motion to Vacate?
The most likely reason that you would bring a Motion To Vacate is because you did not have notice of the lawsuit or a particular hearing that was part of the lawsuit. You have a right to have had the original lawsuit served on you. If it was served on you and you responded, you are entitled to notice of all other hearings. Sometimes a lawsuit is not served on a party. It is important to check the court file and see if it includes a completed Return of Service (sometimes called an Affidavit of Service) or a Certificate of Service. If there is a Return or Service or Certificate of Service you should see what it says about how you were served. If it is not accurate you should consider how you are going to prove it is not correct.
There are other reasons that you might file a Motion To Vacate but, before proceeding, you should discuss your case with a CLEAR advocate (1-888-201-1014) or other lawyer or legal services provider. As we stated above, filing what the court thinks is a frivolous motion may lead to your being ordered to pay the other side's costs, including attorney's fees.
nwjustice.org
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Note: Gary Dobry signed a settlement offer presented to him by Michael Zwebner. He was not ordered to do so by the court.
- Jeff |
