Rule 60.Relief from Judgment or Order

Enacted effective October 1, 2011 · Last amended July 1, 2017 · Last verified June 26, 2026

In one sentenceRule 60 lets a court correct clerical mistakes at any time and relieve a party from a final judgment for reasons such as mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, a void judgment, or other justifying circumstances — with a one-year outer limit for the first three grounds.

Full Text of Rule 60

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Corrections Based on Clerical Mistakes; Oversights and Omissions. The court may correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a judgment, order, or other part of the record. The court may do so on motion or on its own, with or without notice. But after an appeal has been docketed in the supreme court and while it is pending, such a mistake may be corrected only with the supreme court’s leave.

(b) Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding. On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:

(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;

(2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);

(3) fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party;

(4) the judgment is void;

(5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable; or

(6) any other reason that justifies relief.

(1) Timing. A motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time -- and for reasons (1), (2), and (3) no more than a year after the entry of the judgment or order or the date of the proceeding. Motions provided by Rule 60(b) must be determined within the times provided by Rule 59 in the case of motions for new trials and amendment of judgment, and if the court shall fail to rule on the motion within the time frames set forth in Rule 59(f), the motion must be deemed denied. A motion filed under this rule shall follow the format set forth in Rule 59(b).

(2) Effect on Finality. The motion does not affect the judgment’s finality or suspend its operation.

(d) Other Powers to Grant Relief. This rule does not limit a court's power to:

(1) entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding;

(2) grant relief to a defendant who was not personally notified of the action; or

(3) set aside a judgment for fraud on the court.

(e) Bills and Writs Abolished. The following are abolished: bills of review, bills in the nature of bills of review, and writs of coram nobis, coram vobis, and audita querela.

End

Plain-English Summary

Rule 60 is the escape hatch from a final judgment. Subdivision (a) lets the court fix clerical mistakes — slips of the pen, oversights, omissions — at any time, on its own or on motion, though once an appeal has been docketed and is pending, the correction requires the Supreme Court's leave. Subdivision (b) allows broader relief from a final judgment for six reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence; (3) fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party; (4) a void judgment; (5) a judgment that has been satisfied or is no longer equitable to apply; and (6) any other reason that justifies relief.

Timing is tight: a Rule 60(b) motion must be made within a reasonable time, and for the first three grounds no more than one year after the judgment. The same deemed-denied timelines as Rule 59 apply. The rule preserves a court's power to entertain an independent action or set aside a judgment for fraud on the court, and it abolishes the old common-law devices (bills of review and the writs of coram nobis, coram vobis, and audita querela).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a final judgment be reopened?

Yes, in limited circumstances under Rule 60(b): mistake or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, fraud, a void judgment, a satisfied or no-longer-equitable judgment, or any other reason that justifies relief.

Is there a deadline to seek relief from a judgment?

The motion must be made within a reasonable time, and for mistake, newly discovered evidence, or fraud, no more than one year after entry of the judgment.

Source & verification. Reproduced verbatim from the Montana Code Annotated as published by the State Law Library of Montana and the Montana Legislature. Adopted by the Supreme Court of Montana (AF 07-0157). Last verified June 26, 2026. · Official text

Also known as: relief from judgment60(b)set aside judgmentexcusable neglect