In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court’s decision to set aside a 1987 permanent injunction under Rule 74.06(b)(5) as no longer equitable. The opinion offers several reminders for any party seeking to set aside a judgment under Rule 74.06(b).
First, because a Rule 74.06(b) motion rests on a court of equity’s historic power to modify its decrees, there is no right to a jury trial in a proceeding under Rule 74.06(b). The circuit court itself weighs the equities to decide whether it is no longer equitable that the judgment remain in effect.
Second, for the third time in recent years, the Court reiterated that when the circuit court weighs the equities, a change in fact or law alone is not enough. There must also be a showing of inequity demonstrating the necessity of vacating or modifying the injunction (or judgment).
Third, appellate courts will not overturn that weighing of the equities lightly. The ultimate question of whether to set aside a judgment or injunction is within the circuit court’s discretion. That determination will only be overturned upon a showing that the decision, holding, or analysis is so clearly against the logic of the circumstances as to shock one’s sense of justice and lacks careful and deliberate consideration (a high bar).