Genoveva Canseco, as Widow and Personal Representative of the Estate of Fortino Canseco, and Legion Insurance Co. v. United States

ORDER

Genoveva Canseco brought a wrongful death action against the United States. The ease was tried to the court sitting without a jury, between October 19 and October 27, 1992. After the trial concluded, the parties submitted post-trial briefs. Twenty-two months later, the district court judge who presided at the trial filed findings of fact and entered judgment for the United States. The court’s findings were, with few changes, the findings proposed by the government. The district court judge then retired.

Canseco filed a motion for a new trial. She contended the trial judge clearly erred in her factual findings, and committed legal error in interpreting and applying the law. A successor district judge heard and denied the new trial motion. Canseco appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

We vacate the order denying Canse-co’s motion for a new trial because in denying the new trial motion the successor district judge refused to certify familiarity with the record as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 63. This rule provides:

Fed.R.Civ.P. 63 (1991).

The successor judge refused to certify familiarity with the record under Rule 63, because in her view…