Opinion ID: 1401738
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the trial court abused its discretion in granting the order vacating the patel i judgment

Text: ¶ 21 Defendants urge four grounds for reversal of the trial court's order vacating the Patel I judgment: (1) the vacation proceeding is barred by settled-law-of-the-case doctrine, (2) Patel's allegations of intrinsic fraud are not sufficient to vacate a judgment, (3) Patel has failed to show that defendants' misrepresentations, if any, were made with the scienter necessary for securing the vacation of a judgment, and (4) an evidentiary hearing is required prior to the vacation of a judgment for fraud and none was afforded to defendants. We hold that the nisi prius order vacating the Patel I judgment must be reversed and the cause remanded, though we do so for reasons other than those raised in defendants' first three arguments. We reverse the nisi prius order in this case both because we agree with defendants' fourth ground for reversal  that an evidentiary hearing was indeed the defendants' due  as well as because of the need to explore below the prudential issues newly unveiled in Part III D.