Certiorari Granted on Fed. Rule Civ. P. 60(b)(4) Motion

In Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited Inc. v. Burton, 2025 WL 1603597, arising out of In re Vista-Pro Automotive LLC, a Chapter 11 case converted to Chapter 7, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the issue of a time bar under Fed. Rule Civ. P. 60(b)(4) for filing a motion to set aside a judgment that is allegedly void. The defendant in an action filed by the debtor alleged lack of personal jurisdiction because of improper service, and five years after entry of the default judgment the defendant moved under Fed. Rule Bankr. P. 9024 and Fed. Rule Civ. P. 60(b)(4) to set aside the judgment. Rule 60(c) states that a motion under Rule 60(b) must be filed within a reasonable time. See Kemp v. United States, 596 U.S. 528 (2022) (citing Rule 60(c)). 

The Court’s determination of reasonable time and potential limitations on time to file a Rule 60(b)(4) motion will have application in other bankruptcy cases, including consumer cases, in which judgments have been obtained and motions related to those judgments or their collection are filed.

William-1_print_2019
Editor/Adviser, Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education

The Honorable William Houston Brown retired in 2006 as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, and he had been designated to sit also in the Middle District of Tennessee, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Kentucky. Judge Brown served a four-year term on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Sixth Circuit from 1999 through 2002. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was Order of the Coif. Judge Brown is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, having served on its Board and Executive Committee, and he is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. He is the author or co-author of several texts, including Bankruptcy Exemption Manual, 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Legislation with Analysis 1st and 2d editions, Bankruptcy and Domestic Relations Manual, The Law of Debtors and Creditors, as well as bankruptcy form books, all published by Thomson West. He is also a principal contributing editor for Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 3rd, published by Thomson West. Judge Brown prepares a quarterly update of consumer cases for the Federal Judicial Center, which distributes those materials to all bankruptcy judges, and he is a speaker at the Federal Judicial Center’s annual seminars for bankruptcy judges. He also speaks regularly at seminars throughout the United States, on consumer bankruptcy topics. Judge Brown co-authors Chapter 13 Bankruptcy 4th ed., a digital publication, available at ch13online.com. Judge Brown also acts as a mediator in bankruptcy-related disputes, has conducted mock trials, and has testified as an expert witness in bankruptcy court proceedings.

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