(a) Corrections based on clerical mistakes; Oversights and omissions. The court may correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a judgment, order, or other part of the record. The court may do so on motion or on its own, with notice. But after an appeal has been docketed in the Supreme Court and while it is pending, such a mistake may be corrected only with the Supreme Court's leave.
Rule 60.Relief From a Judgment or Order
Group VII: Judgment · Last amended March 1, 2011 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 60 is North Dakota's mechanism for correcting clerical mistakes and for relieving a party from a final judgment or order on grounds like mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, a void judgment, or any other reason justifying relief, generally within a year for the first three grounds.
Full Text of Rule 60
(b) Grounds for relief from a final judgment or order. On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:
(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;
(2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);
(3) fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party;
(4) the judgment is void;
(5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable; or
(6) any other reason that justifies relief.
(c) Timing and effect of the motion.
(1) Timing. A motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons (1),
(2) , and (3) no more than a year after notice of entry of the judgment or order in the action or proceeding if the opposing party appeared, but not more than one year after a default judgment has been entered. (2) Effect on finality. The motion does not affect the judgment's finality or suspend its operation.
(3) Leave to make the motion need not be obtained from an appellate court unless an appeal from the judgment is actually pending before that court.
(d) Other powers to grant relief. This rule does not limit a court's power to:
(1) entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding;
(2) grant relief under Rule 4(e)(7) to a defendant who was not personally notified of the action; or
(3) set aside a judgment for fraud on the court.
(e) Bills and writs abolished. The following are abolished: bills of review, bills in the nature of bills of review, and writs of coram nobis, coram vobis, and audita querela.
Explanatory Note
Rule 60 was amended, effective September 1, 1983; March 1, 1990; March 1, 1994; March 1, 2011. Rule 60 is derived from Fed.R.Civ.P. 60. Subdivision (c) was amended in 1983, effective September 1, 1983, to provide that a motion for relief for reasons (1), (2), and (3) be made not more than one year after "notice that" the judgment or order was entered except for default judgments the time starts to run from date of entry. Subdivision (b) was amended, effective March 1, 1990. The amendment is technical in nature and no substantive change is intended. Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 1994, by deleting the phrase "and after such notice, if any, as the court orders." The purpose of the amendment is to clarify that notice should be given. See Disciplinary Action Against Wilson, 461 N.W.2d 105 (N.D. 1990). Rule 60 was amended and subdivisions (c), (d), and (e) were added, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 60(a) lets the court fix a clerical mistake, or one arising from oversight or omission, whenever it turns up in a judgment, order, or other part of the record — on a party's motion or on the court's own initiative, with notice. Once an appeal has been docketed in the Supreme Court, though, that kind of correction needs the Supreme Court's leave while the appeal is pending.
Rule 60(b) is North Dakota's counterpart to the federal Rule 60(b) motion to vacate a judgment, and its six grounds don't map onto the federal list word for word, so it's worth reading them directly: mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; newly discovered evidence that reasonable diligence could not have turned up in time for a Rule 59(b) new trial motion; fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party (fraud can be what used to be called intrinsic or extrinsic); the judgment is void; the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged, rests on an earlier judgment that's since been reversed or vacated, or it's no longer equitable to keep applying it going forward; and, as a catchall, any other reason that justifies relief.
Timing works differently depending on the ground. Every Rule 60(b) motion must be made within a reasonable time, and for the first three grounds — mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud — no later than a year after notice of entry of the judgment or order if the opposing party appeared in the case, or no later than a year after the judgment was entered if it was a default judgment. Filing the motion doesn't affect the judgment's finality or suspend it, and a party doesn't need an appellate court's leave to bring the motion unless an appeal is already pending.
Rule 60(d) makes clear this rule doesn't cut off other paths to relief: a court can still entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, grant relief under Rule 4(e)(7) to a defendant who was never personally notified of the action, or set aside a judgment for fraud on the court. Rule 60(e) closes the door on the old common-law alternatives — bills of review, bills in the nature of bills of review, and writs of coram nobis, coram vobis, and audita querela are all abolished.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is North Dakota's equivalent of a federal Rule 60(b) motion to vacate a judgment?
Rule 60(b) lets a court relieve a party from a final judgment or order for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; newly discovered evidence; fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party; a void judgment; a satisfied, released, discharged, or reversed judgment, or one no longer equitable to enforce; or any other reason justifying relief.
How long do I have to bring a Rule 60(b) motion in North Dakota?
Every Rule 60(b) motion must be made within a reasonable time. For the mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud grounds, it must also come no later than a year after notice of entry of judgment if the opposing party appeared, or a year after entry of a default judgment.
Can I get relief from a judgment if the other side committed fraud in obtaining it?
Yes. Rule 60(b)(3) covers fraud by an opposing party, whether it would traditionally have been called intrinsic or extrinsic, along with misrepresentation and misconduct.
Does filing a Rule 60(b) motion stop the judgment from being enforced while it's pending?
No. Rule 60(c)(2) states that the motion doesn't affect the judgment's finality or suspend its operation.
Can I still sue separately to set aside a judgment obtained through fraud on the court?
Yes. Rule 60(d) preserves the court's power to entertain an independent action for that relief and specifically preserves the power to set aside a judgment for fraud on the court.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Explanatory Note are
reproduced verbatim from the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of North Dakota. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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