Bahr,, motions for reconsideration are applicable only when the court’s order is based on plainly incorrect reasoning when the court failed to consider evidence, or there is a good reason for it to consider new information on an issue decided. According to the 2006 Appellate Division case of Cummings v. The governing legal standard is fairly narrow. But the Court has a good reason for doing so, Court Rule 1:3-4(c) prohibits the Court from enlarging time with respect to motions for reconsideration of final orders. What Happens when a Motion Is Denied?Ī motion for reconsideration may be properly denied if based on unraised facts known to the movant prior to entry of judgment.įurther, the 20-day filing requirement is similarly harshly enforced. You are stuck with what you gave the Court the first time around. The Court is within its rights to bar you from introducing new evidence on a motion for reconsideration. Expect the Court to take a good hard look at your motion for reconsideration to find ways it can be thrown out on a procedural technicality.Īnother procedural issue on a motion for reconsideration, at least with final orders, is that they cannot be used to “expand the record” and re-argue a motion.Ī motion for reconsideration is designed to seek review of an order based on the evidence before the court on the initial motion.
However, judges are human beings like the rest of us, and therefore, they don’t like being told they were wrong. Generally, motions for reconsideration are discretionary and should be granted in the interests of justice. Judges are frequently very busy, and motions for reconsideration are often used improperly by attorneys and unrepresented individual alike. Need to file a Motion to Reconsider? Call DeTommaso Law Group now at (908) 274-3028 to schedule a consultation with an attorney! When Can You File a Motion for Reconsideration?Ĭourt Rule 4:49-2 governs Motions to Alter or Amend a Judgment or Order and provides that the motion must be filed within 20 days after it has been received and must “state with specificity the basis on which it is made, including a statement of the matters or controlling decision which counsel believes the court has overlooked or as to which it has erred.”īe warned, these standards are incredibly strict. These standards are very different, so I will address one and then the other. There are legal standards governing reconsideration of pendente lite (a Latin term meaning “during the proceeding”) orders and final orders. What Is a "Motion to Reconsider?"Ī Motion for Reconsideration is a motion that you file when you want the judge to take a second look at a decision that you feel was incorrect.Ī Motion for Reconsideration will not, however, be granted simply because you disagree with the outcome.
While it can be difficult to get a judge to think again on a decision he or she made just a short while beforehand, it is often possible with the right combination of factual and legal knowledge.
Fortunately, however, there is a sliver of hope: the motion for reconsideration. Unfortunately for many going through the divorce process, judges can and often do get issues wrong. If judges were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Court of Appeals.
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