Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited, Inc. v. Burton, Trustee, 2026 WL 135998 (January 20, 2026) (click here for .pdf). In 2014, Debtor Vista-Pro Automotive, LLC filed an adversary proceeding against Coney Island to recover $50,000.00 in unpaid invoices. Coney Island did not answer and a default judgment was entered in 2015. In 2021, the Trustee was able to garnish Coney Island’s bank accounts. Coney Island then filed a Motion to vacate the judgment pursant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60 on the grounds that it had not been properly served and, therefore, the 2015 judgment was void. The Bankruptcy Court denied the Motion because it was not filed within a “reasonable time” and the District Court and Eighth Circuit affirmed.
Rule 60(b)(4) expressly provides that a party may move for relief from a void judgment. However, Rule 60(c)(1) provides that a “motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time.”
The structure of Rule 60 confirms what the plain text of subdivision (c)(1) provides. When Rule 60 modifies the default reasonable-time limit, it does so expressly. For example, Rule 60(c)(1) imposes a 1-year limit on Rule 60(b) motions alleging mistakes, new evidence, or fraud. Thus, one would expect Rule 60 to include an analogous provision if a special, unlimited-time principle applied to motions alleging voidness. …But the Rule does not.
Coney Island argued that the reasonable time limit of Rule 60(b)(1) did not apply to void judgments, and the passage of time did not turn a nullity into an enforceable judgment.
This argument cannot bear the weight that Coney Island and others have placed on it. Even if the passage of time cannot cure voidness, the same principle holds true for most legal errors. Nevertheless, statutes and rules routinely limit the time during which a party can seek relief from a judgment infected by error. Therefore, a party in Coney Island’s position would need to show that some principle of law, such as the Due Process Clause, gives a party the right to allege voidness at any time. .. Giving a party a “reasonable” time to seek relief from an allegedly void judgment may well be all that due process demands.
The analysis is not different because the issue was failure of proper service and the possibility that a party may not learn of the judgment for a significant period of time. A defendant may strategically use that unlimited time to wait and file a Rule 60(b) motion until the plaintiff attempts to collect on the judgment. There was also no consensus among other courts that a party could move for relief at any time, and the Rule’s “text and structure” take precedence over historical practice. Similarly, policy concerns over an interpretation of a rule generally do not carry any weight when a rule is not ambiguous.
As Coney Island did not contend that its Motion was filed within a reasonable time, the lower court’s decision was affirmed. “Litigants seeking relief under Rule 60(b)(4) must comply with Rule 60(c)(1) and file a motion within a reasonable time.”
Scott Riddle’s practice focuses on bankruptcy and reorganization. Scott has represented businesses and other parties in Bankruptcy cases for over 20 years. You can contact Scott at 404-815-0164 or scott@scottriddlelaw.com. For more information, click here.