Lemberg v. San Francisco Opera Association

Background

The court had previously granted San Francisco Opera Association’s motion to enforce a settlement. Ann Marilyn Lemberg then filed a document titled “Notice to Court to Annul Her Accession and to Recant Judgment and Order per Rule 59E.” She asked the court to rescind her conditional offer related to the settlement, overturn the judgment based on it, deny the motion to enforce, and set the matter for trial.

The court construed the filing as a motion for reconsideration under Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 59(e) provides an extraordinary remedy that generally requires newly discovered evidence, clear error by the court, or an intervening change in controlling law.

Court’s analysis

The court assumed Lemberg was asserting that it had clearly erred when granting the motion to enforce the settlement. It found that her filing made essentially the same arguments she had previously raised in opposition to enforcement. Because the court had already considered and rejected those arguments, and because the new filing did not change its assessment, reconsideration was not warranted.

The court also addressed any challenge to the award of reasonable attorney’s fees. It held that Lemberg could not raise that challenge for the first time in a Rule 59(e) motion when she could reasonably have raised it earlier. The court further stated that, under its earlier order and California law, San Francisco Opera Association was entitled to the fees.

Disposition

The court denied Lemberg’s motion for reconsideration under Rule 59(e). The opinion does not state that the earlier order enforcing the settlement was vacated or altered.