Owens v. Mukendi

This case requires us to determine whether a judgment obtained through the alleged misuse of the plaintiff’s position as attorney for the defendant, to induce the defendant to default and abandon any defense to the assessment of damages, was properly vacated under Mass. R. Civ. P. 60 (b) (6), 365 Mass. 828 (1974) (“any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment”), more than three years after its entry.

A judge in the Superior Court vacated the default judgment, concluding that the defendant, Dr. Ilunga Mukendi, had meritorious defenses to the claims and that conflicts of…