Gary Wayne Carter, proceeding pro se, filed a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to reopen a prior dismissal of his Section 1983 civil rights action. Carter sought relief based on excusable neglect, specifically citing his homelessness which prevented him from providing a current address to the court. The district court denied the motion without first obtaining a response from the defendants. The lower court construed the motion as arising under Rule 60(b)(1) and concluded it was untimely because it was filed more than one year after the entry of the dismissal order. The district court also ruled that relief under Rule 60(b)(6) was inappropriate because Rule 60(b)(1) was the proper avenue for claims of excusable neglect. Carter appealed this denial to the Fourth Circuit.
The Fourth Circuit reviewed the district court's denial for an abuse of discretion. The court first addressed the correct subsection of Rule 60(b) to apply. It concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Rule 60(b)(1) was the appropriate subsection for Carter's claim of excusable neglect. Consequently, the court affirmed that Carter could not seek relief under Rule 60(b)(6), noting that the grounds for subsection (b)(6) are mutually exclusive from other subsections. This prevents parties who failed to take timely action on one ground from resorting to the catch-all provision to avoid the one-year limit. However, the court found a critical error in how the district court applied the time limit. The Fourth Circuit reiterated that the one-year deadline for Rule 60(b)(1) is an affirmative defense, not a jurisdictional bar. Because the defendants did not raise the timeliness issue, the district court had the discretion to consider the motion but was not required to raise the defense on its own. By raising the timeliness issue sua sponte and denying the motion without giving Carter notice or an opportunity to respond, the district court abused its discretion.
The district court's judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings. On remand, the district court must consider Carter's Rule 60(b) motion without sua sponte raising the timeliness defense. The timeliness issue remains an affirmative defense that the defendants must raise if they wish to assert it. If the defendants fail to raise it, the court may proceed to consider the merits of the excusable neglect claim. The decision clarifies that while the one-year limit is strict, the court cannot enforce it as a jurisdictional bar without the opposing party invoking the defense.
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