Rule 83.Altering or Amending a Judgment

Rule 83 is Arizona family law's motion for new trial and to alter or amend, combined. It is also the motion Rule 78(e)(3) points to when a judgment omits a ruling on attorney fees.

The eight grounds

Each must materially affect a party's rights:

• the court did not properly consider or weigh all of the admitted evidence;
• any irregularity in the proceedings or abuse of discretion depriving the party of a fair trial;
• misconduct of the other party;
• accident or surprise that could not reasonably have been prevented;
• newly discovered material evidence that could not have been discovered and produced at trial with reasonable diligence;
• error in the admission or rejection of evidence, or other errors of law;
• mistakenly overlooked or misapplied uncontested facts, including mathematical errors, necessary to the ruling; or
• the decision, findings or judgment is not supported by the evidence or is contrary to law.

The court may act on its own or on motion, and may alter or amend all or some of its rulings.

What the court can do

Vacate the judgment, take additional testimony, amend findings and conclusions or make new ones, and direct entry of a new judgment. Relief must be limited to the question or questions found to be error, if separable -- so a single error does not reopen an entire decree.

The 25-day deadline, and the unusual briefing sequence

A motion must be filed not later than 25 days after the entry of judgment under Rule 78(b) or (c). That deadline may not be extended by stipulation or court order, except as Rule 4(b)(2) allows.

Then the sequence inverts the usual pattern. Within 15 days of filing, the court must either summarily deny the motion or set a deadline for a response -- and may limit the response to specified issues. A response is not owed until the court orders one, and the deadline is then 30 days after that order, with a reply due 15 days after the response. The court may not grant the motion without giving the non-moving party an opportunity to respond.

A response must address the issues raised and any issues that might arise if the motion is granted -- so the responding party has to brief the consequences of losing, not merely defend the judgment.

Three closing provisions

No successive motions: a party may not move to alter or amend an order granting or denying a Rule 83 motion. Where judgment followed service by publication and the defaulted party never appeared, the court may grant a Rule 83 motion if that party files an application establishing good cause within one year of entry. And any order granting a Rule 83 motion must specify with particularity the ground or grounds.