Rule 78.06.When After-Trial Motion Overruled.

Rule 78.06 puts a hard outer limit on how long a Missouri trial court can sit on an after-trial motion. A motion for new trial, a motion to amend the judgment or opinion, or a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is overruled for all purposes if the court does not rule on it within ninety days after the date the last such timely motion was filed.

This ninety-day clock does not require any action from the losing party or a separate court order to take effect. It runs automatically, and once it expires without a ruling, the motion is deemed overruled, which in turn triggers the countdown for pursuing an appeal. This design keeps cases from stalling indefinitely while a trial court delays a decision on post-trial relief.

The rule builds in two narrow exclusions from the ninety-day count. No day is counted during which the trial court lacks the power to act because of an order from a superior state court, or because the case has been removed. Both exclusions recognize that a trial court sometimes loses authority over a case through no fault of its own, and it would be unfair to run the clock against a court that legally cannot act.

Because the deadline is tied to "the last such timely motion" filed, a party filing more than one qualifying after-trial motion should track the filing date of whichever motion was filed last, since that is the date that starts the ninety-day period.