We've posted a lot about motions for reconsideration, which tends to be a risky procedural maneuver that rarely wins (although it does happen) and often backfires by further burdening a busy court.
Motions for reconsideration can be granted where there is new evidence, a change in controlling law, a clear error of fact, or a clear error of law. This week, we got a lengthy decision from Chief Judge Connolly that touches on what exactly a "clear error" of law means.
The Court found that the standard for "clear error" is actually pretty unclear in Third Circuit and Supreme Court precedent—although other courts have addressed it:
The parties did not cite, and I have not found, a Supreme Court or Third Circuit decision that defines "clear error of law." Judge Lamberth has observed that "[c]ourts have not generally defined what constitutes 'clear error' under Rule 59(e)." Lardner v. F.B.I., 875 F. Supp. 2d 49, 53 (D.D.C. 2012)(citation omitted). The scarce case law on the subject teaches that courts employ a "very exacting standard" when looking for clear error and do not find that a decision was based on clear error absent a "clear conviction" that the decision was wrong. Id. . . . . The Seventh Circuit has held that for a final judgment to be clearly erroneous, it must be "dead wrong," not "just maybe or probably wrong." Parts & Elec. Motors, Inc. v. Sterling Elec., Inc., 866 F.2d 228, 233(7th Cir, 1988). What seems clear (pardon the pun) from the case law and the phrase itself is that a "clear error of law" connotes an error that is more convincing, obvious, definitive, and absolute than a mere error of law.
FinancialRight Claims GmbH v. Burford German Funding LLC, C.A. No. 24-949-CFC, at 26 (D. Del. Feb. 25, 2026).
The Court didn't actually adopt the "dead wrong" standard it mentioned—which is not surprising, given the language.
But I think that articulation may be helpful for thinking about whether you should file a motion for reconsideration. Are you really going to be able to convince the Court that its own opinion, issued just 14 days ago, was dead wrong?
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