United States ex rel. Familian Northwest, Inc. v. RG & B Contractors, Inc.

Opinion by Judge GOODWIN.

Familian Northwest, Inc. (“Familian”), a successful litigant in an action to recover against a defaulting contractor’s bonding company, discovered a month after the judgment had been once amended that it had overlooked some invoices, which, if they had been timely presented in the district court, would have resulted in an enhanced judgment. Familian now appeals the denial of its motion to reopen under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), and its motions for relief from judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) and 60(b)(6). The appeal presents two issues, one of timeliness, and the other a review of “excusable neglect.”

The district court held that the Rule 59(e) motion had been filed more than ten days after judgment became final and thus was time-barred, that Familian’s error which had led to the motion was not the sort of “mistake ... or excusable neglect” contemplated by Rule 60(b)(1), and that Familian had not made a showing that it was entitled to the relief of Rule 60(b)(6). We affirm.

I History

In early 1986, RG & B Contractors, Inc. (“RG & B”) purchased materials on credit from Familian. These materials were to be used in…