Motion for Reconsideration in Colorado: Rules 59, 60, and 121

A motion for reconsideration in Colorado runs through one of three rules, and picking the right one matters more than almost anything else you’ll do. There is no single reconsideration statute. If you’re challenging a mid-case ruling, you file under CRCP 121, Section 1-15. If you’re challenging a final judgment right after trial, you file under Rule 59. If a final judgment was entered some time ago and you’ve since discovered fraud, a jurisdictional defect, or another fundamental problem, Rule 60 is the path. Each rule carries its own deadline, its own standard, and its own effect on your right to appeal.

Which Rule Applies to Your Situation

Start by identifying the ruling you want reconsidered. A judge’s decision on a discovery dispute, a partial dismissal that leaves some claims alive, or a pretrial evidentiary ruling is an interlocutory order because it did not end the entire lawsuit. Those belong under CRCP 121. If the case went to trial and you lost, you’re in Rule 59 territory. If a final judgment was entered months ago and something has since come to light, look at Rule 60.

Filing under the wrong rule is the most common and most damaging mistake. A Rule 60 motion filed when Rule 59 was the right tool will not pause your appeal deadline, and by the time the court denies it, your 49-day appeal window may already be gone.

Reconsidering a Mid-Case Order Under CRCP 121

Motions to reconsider interlocutory orders are explicitly “disfavored” under Colorado practice standards. To prevail, you must show a “manifest error of fact or law that clearly mandates a different result” or a circumstance producing “manifest injustice.”¹ Simple disagreement with how the judge weighed the evidence or read the law will not clear that bar.

The deadline is 14 days from the date of the order. Filing later requires good cause, which the rule defines narrowly: newly available material evidence, or an intervening change in the governing legal standard.¹ Being busy is not good cause.

One feature of interlocutory rulings works quietly in your favor: because they aren’t final judgments, the court retains authority to revise them any time before a final judgment resolves the whole case. In practice, though, judges rarely revisit their own rulings without a genuine change in circumstances.

Post-Trial Relief Under Rule 59

Rule 59 is the workhorse after a trial. It authorizes four types of relief: a new trial on all or some issues, judgment notwithstanding the verdict, amended findings of fact, and amendment of the judgment itself.²

Grounds for a new trial include jury misconduct, newly discovered evidence that you could not have found with reasonable diligence before trial, and errors in the application of the law.² The newly discovered evidence ground is stricter than it sounds. Evidence you had access to but forgot to present does not count. You must show that reasonable diligence would not have turned it up in time.

The filing deadline is 14 days after entry of judgment. The court may extend that time, but only if you request the extension within the original 14-day window.² Miss the deadline and the motion is gone, along with the pause it would have placed on your appeal clock.

The 63-Day Deemed-Denial Rule

Once filed, a Rule 59 motion must be decided within 63 days. If the judge does not rule in that window, the motion is automatically deemed denied for all purposes, including calculation of the appeal deadline. When multiple post-trial motions are pending, the 63 days runs from the filing of the last one.² Watch the calendar. On day 64, your appeal clock is running whether you noticed or not.

Reopening a Case Under Rule 60

Rule 60 is the safety valve for problems that surface after the Rule 59 window has closed. It applies after final judgment. The recognized grounds under Rule 60(b) include:

Mistake or excusable neglect, where you or your attorney missed a deadline or misunderstood a procedural requirement through understandable error rather than carelessness.
Newly discovered evidence, on terms similar to Rule 59 but available when discovery happens after the Rule 59 deadline has passed.
Fraud or misconduct by the opposing party that influenced the court’s decision.
A void judgment, meaning the court lacked jurisdiction over the parties or the subject matter.
Satisfaction or release, where the judgment has already been satisfied or the underlying obligation discharged.
Extraordinary circumstances, a catch-all for situations that don’t fit the other categories but demand relief.

Motions based on mistake, excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud must be filed within a reasonable time and no later than six months after judgment. Motions attacking a void judgment or invoking extraordinary circumstances have no hard outer limit but still must be filed within a reasonable time. Courts assess reasonableness against the complexity of the case and how promptly you acted once the problem became apparent.

What Every Reconsideration Motion Must Include

Regardless of the rule, the motion is filed in the same court that issued the ruling. It must be in writing, with legal authority woven into the motion itself rather than a separate brief, unless the court orders otherwise.

Length limits apply. Motions and responsive briefs are capped at 15 pages and 4,000 words. Reply briefs cannot exceed 10 pages or 2,500 words. The case caption, signature block, certificate of service, and attachments do not count against those limits. All filings must be double-spaced, with an exception for footnotes and quoted material.³ If your motion genuinely needs more room, you have to ask permission first.

Every motion must be accompanied by a proposed order in an editable format such as Word. It can be as short as a single sentence granting or denying the requested relief.³ Forgetting the proposed order is a common mistake that stalls consideration of the motion.

All other parties must be served. Colorado allows service by mail, personal delivery, or electronic filing, and a certificate of service verifying delivery must be attached.

What Happens After You File

The opposing party generally has 21 days to respond. That window shortens to 14 days if the motion is filed within 42 days of the trial date. You then have 7 days after receiving the response to file a reply. The court can shift any of these deadlines.

One wrinkle applies to interlocutory reconsideration motions: the judge can deny the motion outright before the other side responds if the filing on its face fails to allege manifest error.¹

Oral argument is not automatic on any type of reconsideration motion. If the judge authorizes a hearing, the moving party has 7 days to file a notice to set it. Most reconsideration motions are decided on the papers, so the written filing has to carry the argument on its own.

Enforcement and the Appeal Clock

Filing a motion for reconsideration does not automatically stop the other side from enforcing the judgment. An automatic 14-day stay runs after judgment is entered. A timely Rule 59 motion filed inside that window lets you ask the court to extend the stay while the motion is pending. If no Rule 59 motion is filed, the stay expires and enforcement actions such as wage garnishment or property liens can begin.⁴ To halt enforcement beyond the automatic window, you must request a stay separately. The court has discretion to grant it and may require a bond.

Rule 59 Pauses the Appeal Clock. Rule 60 Does Not.

You have 49 days from entry of judgment to file a notice of appeal in Colorado. A timely Rule 59 motion pauses that clock. The 49 days does not resume until the court rules on the motion or the 63-day deemed-denial trigger fires.⁵

A Rule 60 motion does not pause the appeal clock at all. File a Rule 60 motion and let the 49-day window lapse, and you have likely waived your right to appeal the original judgment. If there is any chance you will need to appeal, file the notice of appeal within 49 days regardless of whether a Rule 60 motion is pending.

The Cost of Filing a Weak Motion

Colorado law is aggressive about frivolous filings. Under CRS 13-17-102, a court must award reasonable attorney fees against any party or attorney who brought an action, or any part of one, that “lacked substantial justification.” The statute defines that phrase as substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious.⁶ A motion for reconsideration that simply reruns the arguments the court already rejected can fall inside that definition.

Fees are also mandatory when a filing was interposed for delay or harassment, or when a party unnecessarily expanded the proceedings.⁶ The statute carves out a safe harbor for good faith attempts to establish a new theory of law in Colorado, but that protection does not shield recycled arguments.

Before filing, take an honest look at what you’re actually asking the court to reconsider. If you can point to a specific factual or legal error, a manifest injustice, a genuine piece of newly discovered evidence, or one of the recognized Rule 60 grounds, you have a motion worth filing. If you’re primarily unhappy with the outcome, an appeal is usually the better tool and reconsideration risks adding attorney fees to what you already owe.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Rule Change 2014(11) Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure – Section 1-15
2
Thomson Reuters Westlaw. Rule 59 Motions for Post-Trial Relief
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. CRCP 121 Section 1-15 Responsive Pleadings and Motions
4
Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
5
FindLaw. Said v Magdy (2024)
6
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-17-102 – Attorney Fees Definitions