Rule 50(b) Deadline: Renewed JMOL Motion in 28 Days

01 / PRACTICE NOTES

Move before submission, then renew within 28 days.

Rule 50(a)(2) provides that a motion for judgment as a matter of law may be made at any time before the case is submitted to the jury, and the motion must specify the judgment sought and the law and facts that entitle the movant to the judgment. Rule 50(b) operates on that motion: if the court does not grant a motion made under Rule 50(a), the court is considered to have submitted the action to the jury subject to the court's later deciding the legal questions raised by the motion.

The renewed motion is filed no later than 28 days after the entry of judgment, or, if the motion addresses a jury issue not decided by a verdict, no later than 28 days after the jury was discharged. The movant may include an alternative or joint request for a new trial under Rule 59.

Calendar both triggers when a trial ends. A trial record that closes with a Rule 50(a) motion on the transcript, followed by a verdict, puts the first date on the entry of judgment. A jury issue left undecided puts a second date on the discharge.

02 / PRACTICE NOTES

Two worked counts: entry of judgment and jury discharge.

A judgment is entered on Friday, December 4, 2026. Day 28 is Friday, January 1, 2027, New Year's Day. January 2 and 3 are a weekend, so the renewed motion is due by the end of Monday, January 4, 2027 under Rule 6(a)(1)(C).

For a jury issue not decided by a verdict, take a jury discharged on Thursday, December 10, 2026. Twenty-eight days later is Thursday, January 7, 2027. Enter the discharge date in the calculator to see it. Because the trigger is an event in the trial rather than service of a paper, Rule 6(d) does not apply, and the calculator hides the service option.

The filing day ends at midnight in the court's time zone for electronic filing, unless a statute, local rule or court order sets a different time (Rule 6(a)(4)(A)). Add the state holidays of the district, since Rule 6(a)(6)(C) counts them for periods measured after an event.

03 / PRACTICE NOTES

The court may rule three ways, and a new-trial motion has its own 28 days.

In ruling on the renewed motion, the court may allow judgment on the verdict, if the jury returned a verdict; order a new trial; or direct the entry of judgment as a matter of law (Rule 50(b)(1) through (3)). Decide with the client whether to include the alternative request for a new trial in the renewed motion.

Rule 50(d) provides that any motion for a new trial under Rule 59 by a party against whom judgment as a matter of law is rendered must be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment. The same 28-day count applies, and the calculator takes the new entry date.

Rule 6(b)(2) provides that a court must not extend the time to act under Rules 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(b), (d) and (e), and 60(b). The 28 days are the whole window.

04 / PRACTICE NOTES

The renewed motion bears on the appeal date.

A timely motion for judgment under Rule 50(b) is one of the motions listed in Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(A)(i). When it is filed within the time allowed by the Civil Rules, the time to file an appeal runs for all parties from the entry of the order disposing of the last such remaining motion. Link the appeal task to the Rule 50(b) task in the case so that the appeal date moves when the order is entered.

A notice of appeal filed after the judgment, but before the court disposes of the motion, becomes effective when the order disposing of the last remaining motion is entered (FRAP 4(a)(4)(B)(i)).

1. Record the Rule 50(a) motion and the court's ruling from the trial transcript.
2. Record the entry date of judgment and any jury issue left undecided by a verdict, with the discharge date.
3. Enter each date and 28 days in the calculator and add state holidays.
4. Calendar the renewed motion and any Rule 59 motion as separate tasks.
5. Link the appeal task to the post-trial motions.

05 / PRACTICE NOTES

RuleX keeps the Rule 50(b) date in the case, next to its source.

Create the case in RuleX, add a task for the renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law with the calculated due date, and attach the trial transcript, the Rule 50(a) motion and the judgment. The case log records the rule, the trigger date and the holidays you applied, so every lawyer on the matter reads the same calculation and can reopen the source behind it.

Ask RuleX to read the transcript and the exhibits together and draft the renewed motion in Word, with the record cited in the text. Research, drafting and the calendar date live in one case file with the documents, and the 7-day free trial lets you set up your first matter today.