Opinion ID: 1401738
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: it is an abuse of discretion to grant a vacation quest on the grounds of fraud without first evaluating the petition in light of equitable limitations on obtaining the relief requested

Text: ¶ 36 Patel seeks relief from a judgment on the basis of acts of fraud allegedly occurring during the course of a trial at which she was present and participated. Her petition to vacate and other pleadings in the vacation quest show that at the time of the Patel I trial, Patel had what she believed to be reliable information that defendants' representations to the court about her credentialing file were false and misleading. Patel objected to the admission of Exhibit 1 and informed the court of her belief that the file contained another document which would contradict the document being offered into evidence by defendants. Although Patel never withdrew the objection, she did not ask for a delay or continuance in the trial to review the file for the document she believed it contained, nor did she stand on her objection when the court arrived at its compromise permitting Patel to testify about Exhibit 1. In fact, the record reflects that the court would have been justified in interpreting her response as acquiescence in the granted compromise. ¶ 37 A vacation quest must be evaluated in light of the principle of the finality of judgments. [53] That principle, conceptually encompassed in the various preclusion doctrines, collides in a vacation proceeding with the principle that a fair adversary proceeding must be vouchsafed to the parties in a lawsuit. An unlimited ability to attack a judgment valid on its face would burden the judicial system with the potential for endless and repetitious litigation and jeopardize the public's and the parties' reliance on seemingly final adjudications. On the other hand, where a party has not had a reasonable opportunity to litigate a claim or defense before a court having jurisdiction, unwavering adherence to the doctrine of finality of judgments would result in unfairness and in the lowering of the judicial system in the esteem of the affected litigants as well as of the public. Neither a blanket prohibition against relief from judgments nor the mandated consideration of each and every petition to vacate is desirable or necessary. Both principles must be upheld and are best protected by placing reasonable and prudent procedural requirements on a litigant who launches a § 1031 attack. ¶ 38 We accordingly hold that in a proceeding under § 1031 to vacate an earlier judgment on the grounds of fraud, the petitioner must : (1) show that he (or she) acted without delay in asserting his (or her) rights after discovering the fraud, (2) establish that he (or she) used diligence in the original action in trying to discover and expose the fraud, (3) provide clear and convincing evidence of the fraud, and (4) demonstrate that there is a substantial likelihood that a new trial will have a different result. The prudential requirements we impose today on one who initiates a § 1031 attack will ensure that the complaining party has not in some way helped to create, or invited, the need for a new trial and that granting a new trial will not be a useless exercise. The absence from the record of any judicial inquiry into these prudential factors requires that the postjudgment order of vacation be reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings. ¶ 39 One of the dissenters would reverse the trial court's order and direct that vacation relief be denied. It is unclear whether that dissenter considers the petition (for vacation) facially insufficient or whether he deems the defendant entitled to victory by summary relief. If it be the latter, today's withdrawal of the Rule 13 regime from the procedural arsenal the parties may invoke in a vacation proceeding makes summary disposition unavailable in this case. [54] If, on the other hand, the dissenter's view is that the petition's facial insufficiency requires its dismissal, he is in error. The allegations of the petition are sufficient to state a prima facie case of fraud. Until this pronouncement, no more was necessary to avoid a vacation petition's dismissal. [55] Today's opinion unveils additional fact issues to be addressed before vacation relief may be granted. Plaintiff must be afforded an opportunity to present evidence that would show the existence of those newly required facts. Today's remand, which assures the plaintiff of that opportunity, is indeed a constitutional imperative. [56]