Bright v. Norshipco

187 F.R.D. 536, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22463, 1998 WL 1064867
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedNovember 10, 1998
DocketCiv.A. No. 2:96-985
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 187 F.R.D. 536 (Bright v. Norshipco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bright v. Norshipco, 187 F.R.D. 536, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22463, 1998 WL 1064867 (E.D. Va. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

DOUMAR, District Judge.

Plaintiff brought this action alleging that he had been discriminated against in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.S. §§ 12101, et. seq., as well as various state law claims. The Court dismissed the action without prejudice in an Order dated January 28, 1997 because Plaintiff had failed to submit his claim to the necessary grievance and arbitration procedures. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the Court’s dismissal of the action on January 26, 1998. On October 13, 1998, Plaintiff filed a pro se Motion for Reinstatement, which presently is before the Court. The Court construes this motion to be a Motion for Relief filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs motion will be DENIED.

I. MOTION FOR REINSTATEMENT

Since Plaintiff is proceeding pro se, the Court is mindful that it must construe his submissions liberally. Gordon v. Leeke, 574 F.2d 1147, 1151-52 (4th Cir.1978); Moeller v. D’Arrigo, 163 F.R.D. 489, 490 (E.D.Va.1995). However, even when the Court broadly construes Plaintiffs motion, he fails to state a cognizable claim for relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b).

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) “authorizes discretionary judicial revision of judgments in the listed situations and in other ‘extraordinary circumstances.’ ” Plant v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211, 235, 115 S.Ct. 1447, 1460, 131 L.Ed.2d 328 (1995) (citing Liljeberg v. Health Servs. Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 864, 108 S.Ct. 2194, 2204, 100 L.Ed.2d 855 (1988)). The Rule states that:

On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party’s legal representative from a final judgment, order or proceeding for the following reasons: (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 in-' trinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged, reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application; or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment. The motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1), (2), and (3) not more than one [539]*539year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken.

The decision of whether to grant relief from an order pursuant to Rule 60(b) lies within the sound discretion of the district court. McLawhorn v. John W. Daniel & Co., 924 F.2d 535, 537 (4th Cir.1991); Werner v. Carbo, 731 F.2d 204, 206 (4th Cir.1984); United States v. Bailes, 929 F.2d 694, 1991 WL 41556, *1 (4th Cir.1991)

A motion that is “nothing more than a request that the district court change its mind” is not cognizable under Rule 60(b). Moeller, 163 F.R.D. at 494 (quoting United States v. Williams, 674 F.2d 310, 313 (4th Cir.1982)). See also Bailes, 929 F.2d 694, 1991 WL 41556 at *1. Indeed, there are several threshold requirements that must be satisfied before the Court can grant relief under Rule 60(b). The movant must demonstrate that the motion is timely, that there is a meritorious defense to the challenged order, and that setting aside the order would not unfairly prejudice the opposing parties. McLawhorn, 924 F.2d at 537; Waye v. Townley, 884 F.2d 762, 764 (4th Cir.1989); Werner, 731 F.2d at 206-7; Moeller, 163 F.R.D. at 492 (citing National Credit Union Admin. Bd. v. Gray, 1 F.3d 262, 264 (4th Cir.1993)). After satisfying the above requirements, then the movant must meet the individual standards imposed under the subsections of Rule 60(b). Id.

Plaintiff does not indicate under which subsection of Rule 60(b) he is bringing this motion. However, the motion would be untimely under subsections (1), (2) and (3). Rule 60(b) expressly provides that a motion under those subsections must be brought within a year after the order was entered. In this case, the Order was entered on January 29, 1997; yet, Plaintiff did not bring the instant motion until October 13, 1998, nearly twenty-two months after the entry of the challenged order. Accordingly, Plaintiffs motion is not cognizable under Rule 60(b)(1), (2) or (3). Moreover, a motion under the remaining subsections must be brought within a reasonable time. McLaivhom, 924 F.2d at 538. Plaintiff did not bring this motion in a timely manner and has failed to demonstrate any reason for the lengthy delay. See McLawhorn, 924 F.2d at 538 (holding that a delay of three to four months was unreasonable). None of the allegations contained in the motion are recent developments. Indeed, Plaintiff raised these same arguments in his briefs submitted to the Fourth Circuit. Since Plaintiffs motion was not filed in a timely manner, the Court will not disturb the order and judgment that was entered nearly two years ago and affirmed by the Fourth Circuit.

Even if the Court assumes that Plaintiffs motion was filed in a reasonable time, Plaintiff has not presented a meritorious defense upon which the Court can grant him relief from the Order. In essence, Plaintiff wants the Court to reconsider its previous decision. That request is an inappropriate basis for relief under Rule 60(b). See Moeller, 163 F.R.D. at 494; Bailes, 929 F.2d 694, 1991 WL 41556 at *1. Furthermore, granting relief from a final order that is nearly two years old and has been affirmed on appeal would prejudice Defendants. Courts are concerned with the promotion of the finality of judgments. Opening a closed case at this time unreasonably would disrupt Defendants’ expectations of finality. Since Plaintiff has failed to meet any of the three threshold requirements, the Court must deny Plaintiffs motion.

Moreover, even if Plaintiff had satisfied the threshold requirements, Plaintiff has not stated a cognizable ground for relief from the order.

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Bluebook (online)
187 F.R.D. 536, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22463, 1998 WL 1064867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bright-v-norshipco-vaed-1998.