A Significant Threshold To Establish Fraud Under Rule 60(b)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment which held that, in order to prove a prima facie case of fraud and set aside a prior judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), a party must demonstrate mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect on the part of the opposing party or present newly discovered evidence showing such conduct.  The Court also clarified rule 60(b)(3), holding that a party seeking relief in a case in which fraud was alleged greater than one year following judgment must demonstrate egregious acts of fraud which could not have been reasonably discovered within the one-year window.  Apotex Corp. v. Merck and Company, Inc., Case No. 06-1405, (Fed. Cir., Nov. 16, 2007) (Newman, J.).