Rule 59.New trial; altering or amending a judgment

Rule 59 gives a court several reasons to grant a new trial: irregularities or misconduct that denied a party a fair trial, an accident or surprise ordinary care could not have prevented, damages so excessive they suggest passion or prejudice, a damages figure that is wrong in either direction, a verdict unsupported by the evidence or contrary to law, newly discovered evidence a party could not have found with reasonable diligence in time for trial, or a legal error at trial. After a nonjury trial, the court has extra flexibility — it can reopen an already-entered judgment, hear more testimony, revise or add findings of fact and conclusions of law, and enter a new judgment altogether.

Timing drives this rule. A motion for a new trial must be filed no later than 28 days after judgment is entered, and if that motion relies on affidavits, they must be filed with it; the opposing side then has 14 days to file its own affidavits, a window the court can stretch to 21 days for good cause or by written agreement of the parties, with reply affidavits allowed as well. The court is not limited to what the parties raise: within that same 28-day window it can order a new trial on its own for any reason that would justify granting one, and even after the 28 days, it can grant a timely-filed motion on a ground the motion itself never mentioned, as long as it first gives the parties notice and a chance to be heard. Either way, the court must spell out its reasons in the order. A separate motion to alter or amend the judgment carries the same 28-day deadline.