When should people file a King County Motion for Reconsideration v Revision, does it matter?
What is a motion for reconsideration?
A Motion for Reconsideration is a written request that you make to the judge who last issued a decision in your case. Usually, you file these type of motions in the “But Judge, you didn’t consider this piece of evidence!” moment.
What is a motion for revision?
This motion is more like an appeal. On a motion for revision, you ask the Trial Judge to overrule a commissioner’s temporary order decision.
When would you file a Motion for reconsideration v. Revision?
You’ve got to think strategically. Who is your target audience? It’s the rare commissioner that will ever overturn their own decision as their egos tend to get in the way. So usually, most attorneys have better success with a motion for revision and think they should just file that motion instead. However, sometimes you might want to file both.
I call this the “two step tango”. In this scenario, I file a motion for reconsideration expecting the commissioner to rubber stamp her denial on it. Surely enough, 10 days later she does. I then file a motion for revision on the denial of the reconsideration. Why go through the trouble? Sometimes your client is able to get all the evidence together by the time of the hearing and you have to go to court with what you have.
You’d like to think commissioners would reconsider what they have done, but, most just flat out won’t. Many of the commissioners don’t even bother to read the motion at all. However, sometimes a commissioner will invite a reconsideration motion and tell the parties that if you have additional documents, file them under reconsideration and she’ll consider them. This is a very rare commissioner in King County or anywhere else for that matter.
This means that the best method to advance the client’s interest is usually in filing a motion for revision. State Law says that Trial Judges aren’t suppose to give a commissioner’s prior order deference, but they do anyway.
The bottom line is the Judge doesn’t want to have to look the commissioner in the eye in the lunch room after he reversed the 17th decision from the commissioner. On the appellate level, it’s even worse. That doesn’t mean you don’t try. You’re life is on the line. Sometimes if there’s any chance for improvement, you take the risk.
When must you file a motion for reconsideration v revision in King County?
It’s the same everywhere in Washington State: 10 days. You’ve got 10 days. Note that’s calendar days, not court or business days. What happens if you wait more than 10 days? You can’t file either motion. You must file an appeal to the appellate court or try a motion to vacate or some other legal tactic.
