Setting aside an Ohio judgment: Civ.R. 60(B), one year, and the notice you should have received first

Ohio's relief-from-judgment rule is close to the federal one, with one fewer ground and a notably different route for void judgments. But the more productive question in most default cases is what happened before judgment.

The five grounds

Civ.R. 60(B): on motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or their legal representative from a final judgment, order or proceeding for:

1. Mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect;
2. Newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(B);
3. Fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation or other misconduct of an adverse party;
4. The judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application; or
5. Any other reason justifying relief from the judgment.

Five, not six. Ohio has no enumerated ground for a void judgment, where FRCP 60(b)(4), Mass. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(4) and Wash. CR 60(b)(5) all supply one.

That absence is deliberate. Ohio treats a judgment void for want of jurisdiction as attackable through the court's inherent power to vacate, rather than through Civ.R. 60(B) — a distinction developed in Ohio case law rather than stated in the rule. The practical consequence is that a motion challenging a judgment as void isn't confined by Civ.R. 60(B)'s timing.

One year for the first three

The motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1), (2) and (3) not more than one year after the judgment, order or proceeding was entered or taken.

Both limits apply to grounds (1)–(3): reasonable time and the year. Grounds (4) and (5) carry only the reasonable-time requirement.

Ground (5) — "any other reason justifying relief" — is read narrowly in Ohio, precisely because it has no time cap.

Filing does not stop enforcement

A motion under this subdivision (B) does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation. The procedure for obtaining any relief from a judgment shall be by motion as prescribed in these rules.

Same as everywhere else in this set. A stay is separate.

Check the seven-day notice first

Before reaching Civ.R. 60(B), the most productive question in a default case is whether Civ.R. 55(A)'s notice requirement was met:

If the party against whom judgment by default is sought has appeared in the action, he (or, if appearing by representative, his representative) shall be served with written notice of the application for judgment at least seven days prior to the hearing on such application.

Appearing is a lower bar than answering. A defendant who filed something, wrote to the court, or otherwise appeared — but never answered — was entitled to that notice, and a judgment entered without it was not entered as the rule permits.

Civ.R. 55(A) also bars a default judgment against a minor or incompetent person unless represented by a guardian or other representative who has appeared, and allows the court to conduct hearings or order references where it needs to take an account, determine damages, establish the truth of an averment by evidence, or investigate any other matter — according a jury right where applicable.

Civ.R. 55(B): "If a judgment by default has been entered, it may be set aside in accordance with Rule 60(B)."

Clerical mistakes are Civ.R. 60(A), not 60(B)

Civ.R. 60(A): clerical mistakes in judgments, orders or other parts of the record, and errors arising from oversight or omission, "may be corrected by the court at any time on its own initiative or on the motion of any party and after such notice, if any, as the court orders."

During the pendency of an appeal such mistakes may be corrected before the appeal is docketed in the appellate court, and thereafter while the appeal is pending with leave of the appellate court.

Civ.R. 60(A) makes the record say what the court did. It does not change what the court decided, and using it to seek substantive relief is a common and losing move.

Where the deadline actually starts

Ohio ties several post-judgment periods to the clerk's service of notice rather than to entry alone.

Civ.R. 58(B) requires the clerk to serve notice of the judgment within three days of entry and to note the service in the appearance docket. Civ.R. 59(B) then measures the 28 days for a new-trial motion from entry — or, if the clerk hasn't completed service within that three-day period, from the date service is completed.

Civ.R. 60(B) does not carry that same qualifier; it runs from when the judgment "was entered or taken." Worth noting when the two motions are being considered together.

How Ohio compares

A short checklist

1. Establish what was entered and when — and whether the clerk served notice under Civ.R. 58(B).
2. Check the Civ.R. 55(A) seven-day notice if you had appeared in any form.
3. Calendar one year from entry for grounds (1)–(3); reasonable time applies to all five.
4. If the judgment is void for want of jurisdiction, don't force it into Civ.R. 60(B) — Ohio treats that as an inherent-power question outside the rule's grounds.
5. Use Civ.R. 60(A) only for clerical errors, not for substantive changes.
6. Ask for a stay separately — the motion doesn't suspend the judgment.

Where these rules live

• Ohio Civ.R. 6 — Time
• Ohio Civ.R. 12 — Defenses and Objections
• Ohio Civ.R. 55 — Default
• Ohio Civ.R. 56 — Summary Judgment
• Ohio Civ.R. 58 — Entry of Judgment
• Ohio Civ.R. 59 — New Trials
• Ohio Civ.R. 60 — Relief from Judgment or Order

The Ohio Supreme Court publishes self-help material and forms at supremecourt.ohio.gov. This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the treatment of void judgments outside Civ.R. 60(B) comes from case law this site doesn't cover.