Vacating a Kentucky judgment: six grounds, three of which expire in a year
Kentucky procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Kentucky packs its whole post-judgment relief scheme into one paragraph. CR 60.02 has six grounds lettered (a) through (f), two separate timing rules, and a sentence at the end that catches people who assume filing the motion buys them breathing room.
It does not.
The six grounds
Ky. CR 60.02:
On motion a court may, upon such terms as are just, relieve a party or his legal representative from its final judgment, order, or proceeding upon the following grounds: (a) mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect; (b) newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59.02; (c) perjury or falsified evidence; (d) fraud affecting the proceedings, other than perjury or falsified evidence; (e) the judgment is void, or 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; or (f) any other reason of an extraordinary nature justifying relief.
Kentucky splits fraud in a way most states do not. (c) is perjury or falsified evidence; (d) is fraud affecting the proceedings, other than perjury or falsified evidence. They are separate grounds with different deadlines, so the characterization matters.
Note also the wording of (f): not merely "any other reason justifying relief," but "any other reason of an extraordinary nature justifying relief." Kentucky's catch-all is expressly narrower than the federal one.
Two clocks
The next sentence sets both:
The motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and on grounds (a), (b), and (c) not more than one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken.
| Ground | Outer limit |
|---|---|
| (a) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect | 1 year |
| (b) newly discovered evidence | 1 year |
| (c) perjury or falsified evidence | 1 year |
| (d) fraud affecting the proceedings | reasonable time only |
| (e) void, satisfied, released, discharged, or no longer equitable | reasonable time only |
| (f) any other reason of an extraordinary nature | reasonable time only |
The one-year cap covers (a), (b) and (c) — and notice that (d) fraud is not in that list. This is where the (c)/(d) distinction earns its keep: perjury and falsified evidence are time-barred at a year, while other fraud affecting the proceedings is not.
A void judgment under (e) is likewise not subject to the one year.
But every ground is subject to "within a reasonable time." The one-year cap is a ceiling, not a license to wait.
Filing does not stop the judgment
The last sentence of CR 60.02:
A motion under this rule does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation.
The judgment stays final and stays enforceable while the motion is pending. If collection has started, a separate application is needed to stop it — the motion alone will not.
Default judgments route through the same rule
Ky. CR 55.02 is a single sentence and it hands off:
For good cause shown the court may set aside a judgment by default in accordance with Rule 60.02.
So a default judgment is not set aside on a free-standing "good cause" standard in Kentucky. Good cause must be shown in accordance with Rule 60.02 — which means identifying one of the six grounds and respecting its deadline. In practice a defaulting defendant is usually in ground (a), and therefore inside the one-year cap.
The independent action
Ky. CR 60.03 preserves an older route and then closes an obvious loophole:
Rule 60.02 shall not limit the power of any court to entertain an independent action to relieve a person from a judgment, order or proceeding on appropriate equitable grounds. Relief shall not be granted in an independent action if the ground of relief sought has been denied in a proceeding by motion under Rule 60.02, or would be barred because not brought in time under the provisions of that rule.
The second sentence is the important one. An independent action is not a way around a missed CR 60.02 deadline, and it is not a second attempt at a ground already denied. If the motion would have been out of time, the independent action fails on the same basis.
How Kentucky compares
| Kentucky | Colorado | Nevada | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer limit, mistake / excusable neglect | 1 year | 182 days | 6 months | 1 year |
| Perjury treated separately from other fraud | yes — (c) and (d) | no | no | no |
| Fraud time-limited | only perjury/falsified evidence | yes, 182 days | yes, 6 months | yes, 1 year |
| Catch-all wording | "of an extraordinary nature" | "any other reason justifying relief" | "any other reason that justifies relief" | "any other reason that justifies relief" |
| Default judgments use the same rule | yes, via CR 55.02 | Rule 60(b) | NRCP 60(b) | Rule 60(b) |
| Motion suspends the judgment | no, expressly | no, expressly | no, expressly | no |
| Independent action barred if the motion would be untimely | yes, expressly | — | — | — |
A short checklist
- Pick the lettered ground before drafting. The deadline depends on the letter, not on the story.
- If the problem is perjury or falsified evidence, that is (c) and it expires at one year. Other fraud affecting the proceedings is (d), and it does not.
- Count one year from entry for (a), (b) and (c).
- Move within a reasonable time whatever the ground. The cap is not a safe harbor.
- If the judgment is void, say so under (e) — that ground carries no fixed outer limit.
- For a default judgment, go through CR 55.02 to CR 60.02. "Good cause" alone is not the standard.
- Do not rely on (f) as a general fallback. It requires a reason of an extraordinary nature.
- Arrange a stay separately. The motion does not suspend the judgment's operation.
- Do not treat an independent action under CR 60.03 as a second chance. It is barred if the motion would have been out of time or the ground has already been denied.
Where these rules live
- Ky. CR 55.01 — Default judgment
- Ky. CR 55.02 — Setting aside default
- Ky. CR 59.02 — Motion for new trial; time
- Ky. CR 60.02 — Relief by motion on grounds of mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, etc.
- Ky. CR 60.03 — Independent actions
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what qualifies as a reason of an extraordinary nature under CR 60.02(f) is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.