Jones v. Swanson

241 F.R.D. 625, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22028, 2007 WL 867092
CourtDistrict Court, D. South Dakota
DecidedMarch 6, 2007
DocketCiv. No. 00-4112-KES
StatusPublished

This text of 241 F.R.D. 625 (Jones v. Swanson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Swanson, 241 F.R.D. 625, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22028, 2007 WL 867092 (D.S.D. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

SCHREIER, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Richard M. Jones, filed an action for alienation of affections against defendant, Todd V. Swanson. Although judgment was entered in Jones’s favor, litigation continues. Swanson moves to substitute Christenson Law Office, P.C., (hereinafter referred to as Christenson) as the real party in interest, or alternatively, to join Christenson as a party. Swanson also moves the court to vacate the judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). In response, Jones’s bankruptcy estate1 (hereinafter referred to as Jones’s Estate) moves to dismiss the motion to vacate for lack of jurisdiction. Jones’s Estate also moves to require Swanson to post a bond.

BACKGROUND

Following a jury trial, Swanson was found liable for alienating the affections of Jones’s wife, Donna Jones (hereinafter referred to as Donna). The jury awarded Jones $450,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. The court entered a judgment based upon the jury award on February 19, 2002. (Docket 177).

Swanson appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jones v. Swanson, 341 F.3d 723 (8th Cir.2003). The Eighth Circuit affirmed the finding of liability but concluded that neither the compensatory damage award nor the punitive damage award was supported by the evidence. The Eighth Circuit thus conditionally affirmed the judgment against Swanson subject to Jones’s acceptance of a remittitur that reduced the compensatory damage award to $150,000 and the punitive damage award to $250,000. Id. at 737-38. Jones accepted the remittitur and a judgment was entered in his favor in the amount of $400,000 on November 21, 2003. (Docket 217).

In September of 2004, Jones assigned his interest in the judgment to Christenson, his attorney’s law firm. (Docket 283). After the assignment, Jones filed for bankruptcy. After Swanson filed a motion asking the court to determine the validity of this assignment, [627]*627Christenson assigned its interest in the judgment to Jones’s Estate.

In October of 2004, Donna initiated contact with Swanson. During a telephone conversation held on October 14, 2004, Donna allegedly stated to Swanson that her testimony at trial was the result of being under substantial stress. (Docket 233-2). Swanson then met with Donna on October 26, 2004. During their conversation, which Swanson secretly recorded, Donna indicated that her testimony at trial was inaccurate. Based on his conversations with Donna, Swanson seeks relief from the judgment against him.

DISCUSSION

1. Real Party in Interest

Swanson moves the court to substitute Christenson as the real party in interest in this case or for joinder of Christenson as a party. Swanson asks the court to determine the validity of Jones’s purported assignment of the judgment to Christenson, and if the assignment was valid, to substitute Christen-son as a party to alleviate the risk that Swanson will be liable to both Jones and Christenson. The court denies this motion as moot because Christenson assigned the judgment to Jones’s Estate in February of 2006. (Docket 301, at 7). As a result, even if Jones’s assignment to Christenson was valid, Christenson no longer has an interest in the judgment.

II. Motion to Vacate Judgment

Swanson moves to vacate the judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b), which states:

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 intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) 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; (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.

Swanson contends that Donna’s perjury at trial warrants relief under either Rule 60(b)(2) for newly discovered evidence or Rule 60(b)(6) for other reasons justifying relief. Jones’s Estate argues that the motion is untimely, and thus, the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.2

Rule 60(b) motions are subject to strict time constraints. All Rule 60(b) motions must be filed within a reasonable amount of time after entry of judgment by the district court. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). If the motion seeks relief under Rule 60(b)(1), (2), or (3), then one year is the outside limit of a reasonable amount of time. See id.; see also Lowry v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 211 F.3d 457, 460 (8th Cir.2000). The district court lacks jurisdiction to entertain an untimely Rule 60(b) motion. See Nucor Corp. v. Neb. Pub. Power Dist., 999 F.2d 372, 373 (8th Cir.1993).

Jones argues that Swanson’s motion, which was filed on November 19, 2004, is untimely. Before the court can determine if the motion was timely, however, the court must ascertain the commencement date for the Rule 60(b) limitations period. Jones argues that the clock started running on February 29, 2002, when this court entered judgment after the jury trial. In response, Swanson contends that the limitations period started anew on November 21, 2003, when the judgment was entered after Jones accepted the Eighth Circuit’s remittitur and conditional affirmance.3

[628]*628As a general rule, the district court’s initial entry of judgment starts the limitations period for a motion to vacate that judgment. See The Tool Box, Inc. v. Ogden City Corp., 419 F.3d 1084, 1088 (10th- Cir. 2005) ; see also 11 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller, & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2866, at 390 (1994). The clock is not tolled during the pendency of an appeal of the judgment because Rule 60(b) “motions ‘can be made even though an appeal has been taken and is pending.’ ” Fed. Land Bank of St. Louis v. Cupples Bros., 889 F.2d 764, 766 (8th Cir. 1989) (quoting Transit Cas. Co. v. Security Trust Co., 441 F.2d 788, 791 (5th Cir.1971)). If the appellate court substantially alters the judgment, however, then the limitations period starts anew upon the filing of new judgment after the appeal.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
241 F.R.D. 625, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22028, 2007 WL 867092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-swanson-sdd-2007.