Rule 78.04.Motion for New Trial or To Amend - Time for Filing.

Rule 78.04 sets the filing clock that drives most of Missouri's post-trial practice. A motion for a new trial and a motion to amend the judgment or opinion must both be filed within thirty days after judgment is entered. That single deadline covers two different kinds of relief, which is reflected in the rule's title covering both a new-trial motion and a motion to amend.

The rule cross-references a separate deadline for a different post-trial motion: a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict must be filed within the time provided in Rule 72.01, not under this thirty-day period. Parties weighing which post-trial motion to file need to track both deadlines, since they are not automatically the same.

The rule also addresses a common timing trap. If a party files its motion before judgment is entered, the motion is not lost or invalid — it is treated as filed immediately after the judgment is finally entered. This protects a party who moves quickly, or who files while the exact entry date is unsettled, from having the motion thrown out on a technicality.

The rule has been amended repeatedly over the decades, most recently by an August 2025 order that takes effect July 1, 2026. The thirty-day deadline and the treatment of premature motions remain the operative rule under both the version currently in force and the version that takes effect in 2026.