Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 59 lets the court grant a new trial (after a jury or nonjury trial) for reasons historically recognized at law or in equity, or amend a judgment, all within 28 days of entry, lets the court act on its own within that same window, and treats a failure to timely move for a new trial after a jury verdict as a waiver of trial errors.
(1)Grounds for new trial. The court may, on motion, grant a new trial on all or some of the issues—and to any party—as follows:
(A)after a jury trial, for any reason for which a new trial has heretofore been granted in an action at law; or
(B)after a nonjury trial, for any reason for which a rehearing has heretofore been granted in a suit in equity in court.
(2)Further action after a nonjury trial. After a nonjury trial, the court may, on motion for a new trial, open the judgment if one has been entered, take additional testimony, amend findings of fact and conclusions of law or make new ones, and direct the entry of a new judgment.
(b)Time to file a motion for a new trial. A motion for a new trial shall be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of judgment.
(c)Time to serve affidavits. When a motion for a new trial is based on affidavits, they shall be filed with the motion. The opposing party has 14 days after being served to file opposing affidavits. The court may permit reply affidavits.
(d)New trial on the court’s initiative or for reasons not in the motion. No later than 28 days after the entry of judgment, the court, on its own, may order a new trial for any reason that would justify granting one on a party's motion. After giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard, the court may grant a timely motion for a new trial for a reason not stated in the motion. In either event, the court shall specify the reasons in its order.
(e)Motion to alter or amend a judgment. Any motion to alter or amend a judgment shall be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment.
(f)Effect of failure to move for new trial. If a party fails to make a timely motion for a new trial, after a trial by jury in which judgment as a matter of law has not been rendered by the court, the party is deemed to have waived all errors occurring during the trial which the party might have assigned as grounds in support of such motion; provided that if a party has made a motion under Rule 50(b) for judgment in accordance with the party's motion for judgment as a matter of law and such motion is denied, the party's failure to move for a new trial is not a waiver of error in the court's denying or failing to grant such motion for judgment as a matter of law.
Amendment History
The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 59 gives a court two related tools for revisiting its own judgment: ordering a new trial, or amending the judgment itself. After a jury trial, a new trial can be granted for any reason a new trial has traditionally been granted in an action at law; after a nonjury trial, for any reason a rehearing has traditionally been granted in a suit in equity. Following a nonjury trial, the court can go further — reopening the judgment, taking more testimony, amending or making new findings, and entering a new judgment.
Timing is strict across the board: a motion for a new trial, and a motion to alter or amend the judgment, both have to be filed no later than 28 days after entry of judgment. Affidavits supporting a new-trial motion get filed with the motion itself, and the opposing side gets 14 days to respond with its own, with reply affidavits allowed at the court's discretion. The court can also act on its own within that same 28-day window, ordering a new trial for any reason that would have justified granting one on a party's motion, or granting a timely motion for reasons the motion itself didn't raise — as long as the parties get notice and a chance to be heard first, and the court states its reasons.
Missing the window has consequences. If a party doesn't timely move for a new trial after a jury verdict where judgment as a matter of law wasn't entered, that party waives every trial error it could have raised in that motion — except that denying a Rule 50(b) renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law isn't waived just because the party never separately moved for a new trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a motion for a new trial or to amend a judgment?
No later than 28 days after entry of judgment, for either kind of motion.
Can the court order a new trial on its own, without a party asking?
Yes, within 28 days of judgment, for any reason that would have justified granting a new trial on a party's own motion.
What happens if I don't move for a new trial after losing a jury trial?
You generally waive every trial error you could have raised in that motion — though failing to separately move for a new trial doesn't waive error in the court's denial of a Rule 50(b) renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 59). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:motion for new trialmotion to alter or amend judgment28 day deadline new trial