(A) Repetitive motions and motions to reconsider ruling on a motion. No hearing shall be required upon a repetitive motion or upon motions to reconsider orders or rulings upon a motion. Such a motion by any party or the court or such action to recon- sider by the court shall not delay the trial or any proceedings in the case, or extend the time for any further required or permitted action, motion, or proceedings under these rules.
Rule 53.4.Repetitive motions and motions to reconsider; time for holding under advisement; automatic denial
Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceTrial Rule 53.4 keeps repetitive motions and motions asking a court to reconsider an earlier ruling from stalling a case: no hearing is required, the motion doesn’t extend any other deadline, and if the court doesn’t rule within five days the motion is automatically denied.
Full Text of Rule 53.4
(B) Effect of court’s delay in ruling upon repetitive motion or motion to reconsider ruling on a motion. Unless such a motion is ruled upon within five (5) days it shall be deemed denied, and entry of service of notice of such denial shall not be required. This Rule 53.4 does not apply to an original motion for judgment on the evidence under Rule 50 after the jury is discharged, to amend or make additional findings of fact under Rule 52(B), an original motion to correct errors under Rule 59, or for correction of relief from judgments under Rule 60 or to the ori- ginal motions to the extent expressly permitted or expressly designated as extending time under these rules.
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect January 1, 1990. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Parties sometimes ask a court to take a second look at something it’s already decided, or file the same motion again hoping for a different answer. Trial Rule 53.4 makes sure that kind of motion can’t be used to slow a case down. No hearing is required on a repetitive motion or a motion to reconsider an order or ruling, whether a party or the court itself raises it, and the motion doesn’t push back the trial, delay any other proceeding, or extend the time for any other required or permitted step in the case.
The rule also puts a short fuse on the court’s response: unless the court rules on the motion within five days, it’s deemed denied, and no entry or notice of that denial has to go out. Nothing more needs to happen for the denial to take hold — there’s no praecipe to file and no clerk to notify, unlike the process under Trial Rule 53.1 or Trial Rule 53.3.
Not every motion that revisits an earlier ruling falls under this five-day fuse. The rule carves out an original motion for judgment on the evidence made after the jury is discharged under Trial Rule 50, a motion to amend or add findings of fact under Trial Rule 52(B), an original motion to correct errors under Trial Rule 59, a motion for relief from judgment under Trial Rule 60, and any other original motion whose own rule lets it extend time. By calling these “original” motions, the rule signals that the exemption covers the first motion of that kind — a near-duplicate version of the same motion would fall back under Trial Rule 53.4’s five-day rule instead of under the more generous rule that governs the first one.
Trial Rule 53.4 rounds out the family of rules addressing judicial delay — Trial Rule 53.1 for motions generally, Trial Rule 53.2 for cases held under advisement, Trial Rule 53.3 for motions to correct error — by giving the fastest and most automatic answer of the group to a category of motions that, by nature, ask a court to revisit ground it’s already covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a “repetitive motion” under Trial Rule 53.4?
The rule doesn’t define the term further, but it covers a motion that repeats a request already made, as well as any motion asking the court to reconsider an order or ruling it’s already issued.
Does a motion to reconsider get a hearing?
No. Trial Rule 53.4 doesn’t require a hearing on a repetitive motion or a motion to reconsider.
How long does the court have to rule on a motion to reconsider?
Five days. If the court doesn’t rule within that time, the motion is deemed denied.
Does a party need to file anything to make the automatic denial happen?
No. Once five days pass without a ruling, the motion is deemed denied on its own, and no entry or notice of that denial is required.
Can filing a motion to reconsider push back other deadlines in the case?
No. Trial Rule 53.4 says the motion can’t delay the trial or any other proceeding, and can’t extend the time for any other required or permitted step in the case.
Does this rule apply to a motion to correct error?
If a first motion under one of those excluded rules is denied, does a second one get the same treatment?
Not under the rule’s text. Trial Rule 53.4 exempts the “original” motion of each excluded type, which suggests a repeat motion of the same kind is treated as the ordinary repetitive motion the rule is built to handle.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 53.4). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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