A motion for reconsideration is a formal request asking the same judge who issued a ruling to revisit and change it. In federal court, you file under one of two rules, each with its own deadline, standard, and effect on your right to appeal. Pick the wrong one or miss the window, and you can lose both the motion and the appeal that would have followed it.
The Two Federal Rules and How to Choose
Federal reconsideration runs through Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b). Which one applies turns on timing and on what you are asking the court to do.
Rule 59(e) lets you ask the judge to alter or amend a final judgment. You have 28 days from the date the judgment is entered on the docket.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment It is the stronger of the two options because a timely Rule 59(e) motion pauses your appeal clock. Courts use it to correct clear legal error, address newly discovered evidence, respond to a change in the law, or prevent a manifest injustice.
Rule 60(b) is broader in the situations it covers but harder to win. It provides six grounds for relief: mistake or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, fraud by the opposing party, a void judgment, a judgment that has been satisfied or rests on a reversed prior decision, and a catch-all for any other reason justifying relief. A Rule 60(b) motion does not pause the appeal deadline and does not affect the judgment’s finality or enforceability.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order Courts treat it as an extraordinary remedy and grant it sparingly.
Timing under Rule 60(b) splits by ground. For mistake, new evidence, and fraud, you must file within a reasonable time and no more than one year after the judgment. For the remaining grounds, you have a reasonable time with no fixed outer limit, though courts read “reasonable” strictly.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
Here is the trap. If you try to file a Rule 59(e) motion after the 28-day window has closed, courts will treat it as a Rule 60(b) motion. It will not pause your appeal deadline, and you will be held to the tougher Rule 60(b) standard.
Grounds a Judge Will Actually Accept
Judges do not reconsider a decision because you disagree with it. A motion for reconsideration is not a chance to re-argue what you already argued. You need to show the court something it missed, something that changed, or something that went genuinely wrong.
Clear Error of Law or Fact
The most common basis is that the judge made an obvious mistake in applying the law or reading the facts. Relying on a repealed statute, misreading the terms of a contract central to the dispute, or ignoring binding precedent from a higher court can qualify. The error must be clear enough to have affected the outcome. Factual points already argued and weighed do not count.
Newly Discovered Evidence
You can seek reconsideration based on evidence that was not available when the case was decided. The bar is high. You must show the evidence could not have been found through reasonable effort before the ruling, and that it is significant enough to have likely changed the result. Evidence you forgot to gather, chose not to present, or failed to locate through carelessness will not qualify.
Change in Controlling Law
If a higher court issues a new decision, or a legislature passes a new statute, that directly affects the legal principles in your case, you can ask the judge to reconsider. This most often arises when an appellate court reverses a line of precedent the trial judge relied on. The change must have happened after the original ruling, or at least after arguments were submitted.
Manifest Injustice
Some courts recognize a broader ground: that enforcing the judgment as written would produce a result so unfair it shocks the conscience. This is the hardest standard to meet and the vaguest. Almost every losing party believes the outcome is unjust, and courts know it, so you will need something more concrete than disappointment.
Deadlines You Cannot Extend
Federal reconsideration deadlines are strict and cannot be extended by the judge even for good cause. Rule 6(b)(2) specifically prohibits courts from granting extensions for motions filed under Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b).3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers Treat them as effectively jurisdictional.
- Rule 59(e): 28 days after entry of the judgment. No exceptions, no extensions.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment
- Rule 60(b)(1)–(3): A reasonable time, but no more than one year after the judgment.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
- Rule 60(b)(4)–(6): A reasonable time, with no fixed outer limit.
State courts set their own deadlines that vary widely, some as short as 10 days and others as long as 30. Check the rules of the court where your case is pending. No single timeframe applies everywhere.
What Reconsideration Does to Your Appeal Clock
This is where the choice between the two rules becomes critical. In federal civil cases, a notice of appeal must ordinarily be filed within 30 days after the judgment is entered.4Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right—When Taken
A timely Rule 59(e) motion pauses that 30-day clock. The appeal deadline does not start running again until the judge rules. Once the order granting or denying the motion is entered, you get a fresh 30 days to file your notice of appeal.4Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right—When Taken
A Rule 60(b) motion does not pause the appeal clock at all.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order The original 30-day appeal deadline keeps running. Miss it and you lose the right to appeal the underlying judgment. You can still appeal the denial of the Rule 60(b) motion itself, but that is a much narrower appeal.
The worst scenario is filing what you call a Rule 59(e) motion after the 28-day window has closed. The court reclassifies it as a Rule 60(b) motion, the appeal clock never paused, and by the time you learn the motion has been denied your appeal may already be dead.
Reconsidering Orders Before Final Judgment
The rules above apply to final judgments. Many decisions during a case are interlocutory, meaning they resolve an issue without ending the whole case. Rulings on discovery disputes, dismissals of only some claims, or denials of summary judgment all fit here.
Judges have broader discretion to reconsider their own interlocutory orders at any time before final judgment. There is no rigid filing deadline. The grounds are still similar: a change in the law, substantially different evidence, or a clearly wrong original order. The longer you wait, the harder the motion becomes to justify, and courts will not let parties relitigate the same arguments just because they found a new way to frame them.
Preparing the Motion
A motion for reconsideration is a formal legal document, and sloppy preparation is a common reason motions are denied on procedural grounds before the judge reaches the merits.
Start with the signed order or judgment you are challenging. The entry date on the docket controls your filing deadline. Confirm it directly rather than relying on when you received the order by mail or email.
Then gather the evidence for your specific ground. For a legal error, pull the statutes, regulations, or appellate decisions the judge overlooked or misapplied. For newly discovered evidence, prepare sworn written statements from witnesses or the documents themselves, along with an explanation of why the evidence was not available earlier.
Review the court’s local rules before drafting. They specify formatting, page or word limits, and sometimes require a particular title on the motion. Some federal courts cap supporting briefs at 13,000 words; others impose page limits as short as 10 pages. Ignoring these details can get your motion rejected before anyone reads a word of the argument.
The motion itself needs the case caption (court name, case title, and docket number), a clear statement of which ground you are relying on, and a structured argument connecting the facts and evidence to that ground. Close with a specific request: vacate the judgment, modify a particular provision, or order a new hearing. Vague requests to “reconsider” give the judge nothing to act on.
Filing and Serving
Most federal courts require electronic filing through the CM/ECF system. You select the appropriate motion event, attach the motion as the main document, and upload any supporting memoranda or exhibits as separate attachments. The system generates a Notice of Electronic Filing that serves as timestamped proof of a timely submission. Filing fees for post-judgment motions vary by court and are often modest or nonexistent.
In courts using electronic filing, service on other registered parties happens automatically through the Notice of Electronic Filing, and no separate service is required. For parties not registered for electronic filing, or in courts that require traditional service, common methods include certified mail with return receipt or hand delivery, followed by a certificate of service filed with the court.5LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers
What Happens After You File
Once the motion is on file, the other side gets a set period to respond. In many federal courts the standard response window is 14 days, though local rules and individual judges can set different timelines. The opposition will argue the original decision was correct and your motion falls short of the reconsideration standard. You may then file a short reply.
Most reconsideration motions are decided on the papers without a hearing. The judge has discretion to schedule oral argument, but do not count on it. If you want a hearing, request one explicitly.
The ruling takes one of three forms. Denial, which is the most common. A grant, where the judge vacates or modifies the original order and may issue a new ruling ranging from a small correction to a complete reversal. Or further proceedings, such as additional briefing, a hearing, or, in rare cases, a new trial on certain issues.
Whether the Judgment Can Still Be Enforced
Filing a motion for reconsideration does not automatically stop the winning party from enforcing the judgment against you. Rule 62(a) provides an automatic 30-day stay on enforcement after a judgment is entered, but that stay exists regardless of whether you file a reconsideration motion.6Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment A Rule 60(b) motion specifically does not suspend the judgment’s operation.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order
To pause enforcement beyond the automatic 30-day window, ask the court for a formal stay. Under Rule 62(b), you can obtain one by posting a bond or other security the court approves.6Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment The bond typically covers the full judgment amount plus anticipated interest and costs, which can be a significant financial burden. If you cannot afford a bond, some courts will consider alternative security or a stay without bond in unusual circumstances, though there is no guarantee.
Risks of Filing a Weak Motion
A motion for reconsideration without merit is more than a waste of time. It can cost money and credibility.
Under Rule 11, every motion carries an implicit certification that it is not frivolous and that the legal arguments are supported by existing law or a reasonable extension of it. A court that finds a reconsideration motion violates this standard can impose sanctions, including ordering the filing party to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees incurred in responding.7Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions Sanctions must be limited to what is necessary to deter the conduct, but for a represented party that can still mean paying thousands.
Attorneys face an additional risk. A lawyer who unreasonably multiplies court proceedings can be personally required to pay the excess costs and attorney’s fees their conduct caused.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1927 – Counsel’s Liability for Excessive Costs Filing a reconsideration motion that rehashes arguments the court already rejected is exactly the kind of conduct this provision targets.
If your only real argument is that you disagree with the outcome, save the motion. Look hard at whether an appeal has stronger prospects, and file the notice of appeal within the time you still have.