Ackermann v. United States

The Court's interpretation of amended Rule 60 (b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure neutralizes the humane spirit of the Rule and thereby frustrates its purpose. The Rule empowers courts to set aside judgments under five traditional, specified types of circumstances in which it would be inequitable to permit a judgment to stand. But the draftsmen of the Rule did not intend that these specified grounds should prevent the granting of similar relief in other situations where fairness might re*203quire it. Accordingly, there was added a broad sixth ground: “any other reason justifying relief…