Post-Trial Procedure

Question 1

Under what basis can there be relief from judgment or order?

Answer 1

Court can relieve party of final judgment within a reasonable time, and no later than one year following judgment entry for:
-> mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect
-> new discovered evidence (not previously discovered through reasonable diligence)
OR
-> fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by opposing party

Question 2

What are other remedies a court may also pursue post-trial?

Answer 2

Entertain an independent action to relieve a party from an order, judgment, or proceeding.

Grant relief to D who was not personally notified of the action.

OR

Set aside a judgment for fraud on the court.

Question 3

When must notice of Appel be filed?

Answer 3

Generally must be filed with the district clerk within 30 days after the judgment or order being appealed is entered.

Question 4

How many days after the final judgment is entered does a party have to file a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or a motion for a new trial?

Answer 4

A renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and a motion for a new trial must be filed within 28 days after the final judgment is entered.

Question 5

What is the final judgment rule?

Answer 5

The federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction over appeals of the final judgments of the district court.

If more than one claim is presented in case, or there are multiple parties, a strict court may direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more issues/parties, but only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay.

Question 6

What is a final judgment?

Answer 6

A final judgment is a judicial decision that fully resolves the dispute on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but enforce the judgment.

Question 7

What common interlocutory orders are not immediately appealable as a matter of right?

Answer 7

Denial of
-> summary judgment motion
-> motion to dismiss

OR

Granting of a new trial motion

Question 8

What are the exceptions to the final judgment rule which allows a party to immediately appeal certain orders?

Answer 8

Although most interlocutory orders, such as the denial of a summary judgment motion, a motion to dismiss, or the granting of a new trial motion, are not immediately appealable, 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a) makes certain equitable orders reviewable immediately as a matter of right, including:

-> An order granting, modifying, refusing, or dissolving an injunction (preliminary injunction also included in this);
-> An order appointing or refusing to appoint a receiver; and
-> A decree determining the rights and liabilities of the parties to admiralty cases in which appeals from final decrees are allowed.

Question 9

How long does a party have to appeal a final judgment?

Answer 9

The application must be made within 30 days after the entry of the order, and must be filed with the clerk of the appellate court.

Question 10

How long does a party have to appeal an exception under the final judgment rule?

Is the timeframe different if the interlocutory order is related to certification of a class action?

Answer 10

The application must be made within 10 days after the entry of the order, and must be filed with the clerk of the appellate court.

Yes, it’s 14 days.

Question 11

Can a court enter final judgments as to only a handful of claims or parties?

Under what circumstance can they do this?

When can a party appeal the final judgments to such claims and parties? Do they need to wait for all claims and parties to receive their final judgment?

Answer 11

When an action involves multiple claims or parties, a district court may enter final judgment as to fewer than all claims or parties

IF it expressly determines (i.e., certifies) that there is no just reason for delay in submitting the final judgment as to those claims or parties.

A party may then appeal that judgment if the notice of appeal is filed with the district court clerk within 30 days after entry of that judgment.

Question 12

How long does a party have to appeal a final judgment in a case that involved the federal government, an agency or an officer/employee of either?

Answer 12

A party may then appeal that judgment if the notice of appeal is filed with the district court clerk within 60 days after entry of that judgment.

Question 13

If a party properly appeals a final judgement or an exception to the final judgment rule, must the appellate court hear the case?

Answer 13

No they have discretion to hear or not to hear a case.

Question 14

What are the standards of review?

Answer 14

Review of a trial court’s factual findings (Credibility of witnesses, Factual determinations/verdict)
-> clearly erroneous (only if trial was bench trial)
—-> high deference
—-> Reverse if no reasonable judge would have made finding

-> substantial evidence (only if jury trial)
—-> high deference
—-> Reverse if no reasonable jury would have made finding

Review of a jury verdict
-> varies among jurisdictions

Review of legal rulings (Conclusions of law, Jury instructions)
-> de novo
—-> no deference
—-> Reverse if reasonable belief judge misinterpreted law

Review of discretionary rulings (injunctions, admissibility of evidence)
-> abuse of discretion
—-> high deference
—-> reverse if decisions was unreasonable or arbitrary

Question 15

What is the full faith and credit rule?

Answer 15

If valid judgment is rendered by a court that has jurisdiction over the parties, and parties receive proper notice of the action and a reasonable opportunity to be heard, judgment will receive the same effect in other states as state where it was rendered.

Question 16

What is a “valid final judgment on the merits”?

Answer 16

Court must have PJ and SMJ, D must have had proper notice and opportunity to be heard, court must have nothing further to do but order entry of judgment, AND decision must be made on merits of claim/defense (rather than on technical grounds).

Question 17

What is the sufficiently identical claims rule?

Answer 17

Original and later-filed claim must be sufficiently identical to be barred under claim preclusion (federal “transactional” approach).

Question 18

When are claims considered to be sufficiently identical?

Answer 18

Claims are identical if they:
-> arise from the same transaction, occurrence, or series thereof and
-> could have been raised in the first action because the second claim existed and could have been joined to the first action.

Question 19

What is the sufficiently identical parties rule?

Answer 19

P and D must be the same, and in the same roles, in both the original action and subsequently filed action.

Question 20

What does the doctrine of issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) say?

Answer 20

Precludes the relitigation of issues of fact or law that have already been necessarily determined in an earlier adjudication.

Question 21

What’s the difference between mutual and nonmutual collateral estoppel?

Answer 21

Mutual – where parties from the first action assert collateral estoppel in a subsequent action against other parties from the first action

Nonmutual – where nonparties from the first action assert collateral estoppel in a subsequent action against parties from the first action

Question 22

What does it mean to use collateral estoppel in a defensive and offensive way?

Answer 22

Both types of collateral estoppel (mutual and nonmetal) are permitted in federal court, and both can be used in a defensive or offensive manner.

-> Defensive estoppel is used by a defendant in the second action to avoid relitigating an issue from the first action.

-> Offensive estoppel is used by a plaintiff in the second action to establish an issue from the first action—with limited exceptions

Question 23

What are the exceptions to the use of collateral estoppel in an offensive way?

Answer 23

-> plaintiff could have easily joined first action

-> defendant had little incentive to vigorously defend in first action

-> second action affords procedural

-> opportunities unavailable in first action

OR

-> inconsistent findings on issue exist

Question 24

Can issue preclusions be asserted in a secondary action against a nonparty to the first action?

Answer 24

Both types of issue preclusion can be asserted against parties to the first action or their privies, absent limited exceptions.

However, they cannot be asserted against a nonparty to the first action because it would deprive that party of the opportunity to fully and fairly litigate his/her claims and defenses.

Question 25

What does the doctrine of issue preclusions require?

Answer 25

Same issues
-> facts relevant to particular issue and applicable law must be identical

Actually litigated
-> the issue must have been actually litigated in the prior action

Final, valid judgment
-> first determination of issue was within authority of court that decided it and the determination was made in final decision on the merits

Essential to judgment
-> issue that constitutes a necessary component of the decisions reached will be considered essential

Question 26

What preclusion and lack there of is there regarding criminal prosecution being brought under the civil courts?

Answer 26

In favor of prosecution - preclusion
-> issues determined in a criminal prosecution in drover of the prosecution are generally preclusive in a civl action against D based on the same conduct.

In favor of D - no preclusion
-> issues determined in a criminal prosecution in favor of D are not preclusive in a civil action against D based on the same conduct because P in the civil action was not a party to the criminal prosecution

Question 27

When can a district court correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from an oversight or omission?

What happens if an appeal has been docketed before the mistake has been fixed, can the district court still fix the mistake?

Answer 27

A district court may correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from an oversight or omission in a judgment, order, or other part of the record. The court may do so on its own initiative (i.e., sua sponte) or pursuant to a party’s motion BEFORE an appeal from the judgment or order is docketed.

But after an appeal is docketed, the district court can correct the mistake only with the appellate court’s leave (i.e., permission).

Question 28

If a plaintiff fails to prosecute a case or fails to abide by a court order, what can a D do?

How does this impact P’s ability to sue D again?

Answer 28

A defendant can move for an involuntary dismissal if the plaintiff failed to prosecute the case or comply with a rule or court order.

If the motion is granted, the case will be dismissed with prejudice (unless the court states otherwise) to prevent the plaintiff from suing the defendant on the same claim in the future.

Question 29

Who decides if the district court’s proceedings “stay” once an appeal is made to the appellate court (within 14 days) after a court makes a decision regarding (aka enters an order) the certification of a class action?

Answer 29

If the appellate court permits the appeal, the district court proceedings are stayed pending the appeal only when ordered by the district court or the appellate court

Question 30

How does the res judicata defense work?

Answer 30

After a valid final judgment has been entered on the merits of a claim, the defense of res judicata (i.e., claim preclusion) can be raised in a subsequent action involving the same parties and an identical claim.

Question 31

What is a final judgment?

Answer 31

A final judgment is on the merits when it is based on the substantive elements of a claim or defense, rather than technical or procedural grounds.

Question 32

What are types of judgments no on the merits?

Answer 32

Therefore, judgments not on the merits include dismissals based on:
-> lack of subject-matter jurisdiction—i.e., a court’s authority to hear a particular type of case
-> lack of personal jurisdiction—i.e., a court’s authority over the parties before it
invalid party joinder—i.e., adding parties to a suit
-> improper venue—i.e., the geographical location of the court that will hear a suit