Opinion ID: 1130387
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: THE TRIAL COURT CORRECTLY DENIED THE I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) MOTION.

Text: Stuart asserts that the trial court should have granted the I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion and applied Tribe to Stuart's case. We disagree. I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) (1995) provides a means of obtaining relief from a final judgment which is based on a prior judgment that has been reversed, or otherwise vacated, or if it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application. The motion may be made during the pendency of an appeal as it was in this case, or even after entry of a final judgment; the only requirement is that it be raised within a reasonable time. Id. Having said this, however, we hasten to point out that I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) is not applicable here because Tribe does not reverse Stuart I. There is a reversal only when an appellate court overturns a lower court's decision in the same case. Because Tribe and Stuart I are unrelated cases, the most Tribe could have done was overrule Stuart I, which it does not. When an appellate court overrules past precedent, the jurisprudence of retroactivity comes into play, not I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5). As the Court pointed out in Curl v. Curl, I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) is limited to situations where a prior judgment is reversed and `the present judgment is based on the prior judgment in the sense of res judicata or collateral estoppel.' 115 Idaho 997, 1000, 772 P.2d 204, 207 (1989) (quoting 11 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2863 (1973)). Contrary to Stuart's argument, there is no basis for retroactively applying Tribe to Stuart I because Tribe does not even overrule Stuart I. Stuart invoked only parts IA and II of the Tribe opinion in his I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion. Parts IA and II of the Tribe opinion, which state that Stuart I was wrongly decided because the trial court had a sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on all lesser included offenses, were written by Justice Bistline and concurred in only by myself. 123 Idaho 721, 729, 852 P.2d 87, 95 (1993). Therefore, these parts do not constitute a decision of the Court. Idaho Const. art. V, § 6; Osick v. Public Employee Retirement System, 122 Idaho 457, 459-60, 835 P.2d 1268, 1270-71 (1992). Although part IB of Tribe is a majority opinion, it does not overrule Stuart I. It holds that second degree murder by torture exists in Idaho. Stuart I relied on Stuart having invited error, rather than the non-existence of second degree murder by torture in Idaho. 110 Idaho at 169-70, 715 P.2d at 839-40. Even if Tribe had overruled Stuart I, the fact that Stuart I was final when Tribe was issued would preclude retroactive application. See Fetterly v. State, 121 Idaho 417, 418-19, 825 P.2d 1073, 1074-75 (1991), cert. den. 506 U.S. 1002, 113 S.Ct. 607, 121 L.Ed.2d 542 (1992) (holding new decision on death penalty sentencing did not apply retroactively to already final cases).