Civil Procedure · procedure
A collateral attack is an attempt to challenge the validity of a prior court judgment or order in a subsequent case, typically aimed at preventing the enforcement of that judgment. This approach can be employed when the challenging party did not have a full and fair opportunity to contest the original ruling.
There must be an existing judgment or adjudication from a competent court.
What to prove: The challenger must demonstrate that a specific judgment exists that they wish to contest.
There must be valid grounds for claiming that the prior judgment is invalid, such as lack of personal jurisdiction, or other due process violations.
What to prove: The party must show that the original court lacked proper authority or there were procedural defects that invalidated the judgment.
The attack must be raised in a distinct legal proceeding rather than through the regular appellate process.
What to prove: The challenger must initiate an entirely separate lawsuit or action to bring forth the collateral challenge.
The burden of proof lies with the party making the collateral attack, typically requiring them to establish their claims by a preponderance of the evidence.
Students should be prepared to analyze scenarios involving prior judgments and consider whether a collateral attack is appropriate, focusing on jurisdictional issues and procedural validity.