To set aside a judgment procured by fraud in federal court, file a motion under Rule 60(b)(3) within one year of the date the judgment was entered.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Section: (b) Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding Miss that window and two narrower routes remain: a showing of fraud on the court, which has no time limit, or a separate independent lawsuit asking the court to undo the old judgment. All three paths demand clear and convincing proof that deception changed the outcome.
The Rule 60(b)(3) Motion
Rule 60(b)(3) is the main tool. Its language reaches “fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party.”1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Section: (b) Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding That covers perjured testimony, forged documents, hidden evidence during discovery, and schemes that kept you from participating in the case at all.
The one-year clock runs from the date the judgment or order was entered.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Section: (b) Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding Even inside that year the motion must be filed within a “reasonable time,” so sitting on a fraud you discovered in month two until month eleven can sink the motion on its own. Most federal circuits require clear and convincing evidence, a higher bar than the usual civil “more likely than not.” You also have to show the fraud actually affected the outcome. If the judgment would have gone the same way without the misconduct, the court won’t vacate it.
Fraud that happened outside the courtroom and prevented someone from defending themselves — missed notice of the suit, a tricked-into-missing hearing — tends to draw more sympathy than lies told on the stand, because the victim had no chance to expose it during trial. The deadline is the same either way, but judges weigh that difference when deciding whether to grant relief.
When the One-Year Deadline Has Passed
Two options survive after the Rule 60(b)(3) window closes, and both are harder than the motion they replace.
Fraud on the Court
Rule 60(d)(3) preserves the court’s power to “set aside a judgment for fraud on the court” with no time limit.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Section: (d) Other Powers to Grant Relief The category is deliberately narrow. A lawyer bribing a juror, a judge taking payments from one side, an officer of the court manufacturing evidence — that is the kind of conduct courts have in mind. A majority of courts require clear and convincing proof of an intentional scheme aimed at the court’s ability to decide the case impartially.
Ordinary perjury by a witness, as serious as it is, generally doesn’t qualify unless an attorney or court officer orchestrated it. Discovery violations and dishonest litigation tactics usually fall short. The focus is on whether someone in a position of trust abused it to corrupt the proceedings from inside. When a court finds that happened, the response is aggressive: independent investigations, full evidentiary hearings, vacatur regardless of how many years have passed.
Independent Action
If the deadline has passed but the conduct doesn’t reach fraud on the court, Rule 60(d)(1) preserves the power to “entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding.” This is a new lawsuit, not a motion in the old case. The Advisory Committee Notes describe it as the remaining procedural remedy once the motion deadline expires.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 60 – Section: Advisory Committee Notes, 1946 Amendment
Timing is governed by laches and applicable statutes of limitations rather than a fixed cutoff. Independent actions work best when the fraud kept a party from ever participating — missed service, hidden proceedings, active obstruction of a defense. Courts are more reluctant when the complaint is about perjury or other deceptions that could have been challenged during the original trial. A new lawsuit also means a new filing fee, new service of process, and relitigating the fraud question from scratch.
Evidence That Clears the Bar
Clear and convincing evidence takes more than suspicion. You need specific, documented proof that the opposing party lied, concealed material facts, or fabricated evidence, and that the deception changed the result. Vague accusations get dismissed quickly.
- Official transcripts from the original proceeding showing the specific testimony or representation you claim was false.
- Documents that directly contradict what was presented at trial — bank statements disproving claimed figures, communications showing coordinated false testimony, or materials withheld during discovery.
- Forensic analysis when the fraud involves forged signatures, altered contracts, or fabricated documents.
- Sworn affidavits from people with firsthand knowledge, specifying dates, names, and what was misrepresented.
Every allegation in the motion must point to a specific piece of evidence. If you’re claiming evidence was hidden during discovery, explain when you found it and why you couldn’t have found it sooner. Courts are skeptical of fraud motions that look like repackaged appeals: if the real complaint is that the judge weighed the evidence differently than you’d prefer, Rule 60(b)(3) isn’t the vehicle.
Filing and What Happens Next
The motion is filed with the clerk of the court that entered the original judgment. In federal court, post-judgment motions by existing parties often carry no additional filing fee; state court fees vary. After filing, serve the opposing party with the motion and all supporting documents, then file proof of service. Botched service is one of the fastest ways to lose without the judge ever reading the motion.
Once the motion is properly filed and served, the court sets a hearing. The other side gets time to respond in writing, and both sides argue at the hearing. While the motion is pending, you can ask the court for a stay of enforcement to prevent the other side from collecting on the judgment. Under Rule 62(b), a stay takes effect when the court approves a bond or other security.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Section: (b) Stay by Bond or Other Security The bond typically needs to cover the judgment amount, and the court decides what form of security to accept.
If the court grants the motion, the relief depends on the scope of the fraud. A judge might order a new trial on the affected issues, vacate the judgment entirely, or dismiss the original claims. When property was transferred or money collected under the fraudulent judgment, the court can order those transactions reversed to put both sides back where they started.
Risks on Both Sides
A party or attorney caught procuring a judgment through fraud faces consequences well beyond losing it. Rule 11 authorizes sanctions for pleadings or motions not well-grounded in fact or filed for an improper purpose, including nonmonetary directives, penalties paid into court, and orders to pay the other side’s reasonable attorney’s fees.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Section: (c)(4) Nature of a Sanction Attorneys can also be referred to state bar disciplinary authorities.
Criminal exposure is more serious. Perjury carries a federal penalty of up to five years in prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally Obstruction of justice covering schemes to influence or impede court proceedings can bring up to ten years, and up to twenty when the conduct involves an attempted killing or targets a juror in a case involving a serious felony.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1503 – Influencing or Injuring Officer or Juror Generally A judge who finds fraud in a civil case can refer the matter for prosecution, and the vacated judgment becomes powerful evidence in that criminal case.
The risk runs in the other direction too. A Rule 60(b)(3) motion built on weak or fabricated allegations to harass the other party can trigger Rule 11 sanctions against the filer. Courts take fraud claims seriously in both directions.
If Money Already Changed Hands
Money received from a judgment is generally taxable income in the year you receive it. If a later vacatur forces you to pay it back, you may have already paid tax on income you no longer get to keep. The IRS doesn’t adjust prior returns on its own.
When the repayment exceeds $3,000, the claim of right doctrine under 26 U.S.C. § 1341 lets you choose the more favorable of two calculations: deduct the repayment in the year you return the money, or recompute the earlier year’s tax as if you’d never received it.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1341 – Computation of Tax Where Taxpayer Restores Substantial Amount Held Under Claim of Right For repayments of $3,000 or less, you simply take a deduction in the year of repayment.
You may also need to file an amended return on Form 1040-X. To claim a refund through amendment, you generally must file within three years of the original filing date or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 308, Amended Returns When fraud litigation drags on for years, that window can close before the court finishes its work, so track your filing dates and talk to a tax professional early. A change to your federal return may also affect state tax liability.
A Note on State Court Judgments
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure don’t apply directly to judgments entered in state court, and most civil lawsuits are filed in state court. Nearly every state has an equivalent to Rule 60(b) allowing judgments to be challenged for fraud, but deadlines, procedural steps, and terminology vary. Some states use shorter or longer windows than the federal one-year limit, and a few still draw a meaningful distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic fraud for timing purposes that the federal rule has collapsed. If your judgment is from state court, identify the specific state rule or statute before anything else — missing a jurisdiction-specific deadline can end the challenge before it starts.