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clerical mistake.2 Rule 60(b) allows such relief where the
desire for justice outweighs the value of finality of a judgment
that is unconscionable to execute and that was rendered without
fault or neglect on the part of the litigant seeking to reform
it. W. Va. Oil & Gas Co. v. George E. Breece Lumber Co., 213
F.2d 702, 704 (5th Cir. 1954); see also Marine Ins. Co. v.
Hodgson, 11 U.S. 332, 336 (1813). A litigant may obtain rule
60(b) relief in one of two ways. First, the litigant may move
the court in which the judgment was entered for relief under one
of the six grounds listed in rule 60(b). Banker’s Mortgage Co.
v. United States, 423 F.2d 73, 77-78 (5th Cir. 1970). Second,
the litigant may bring an independent action to obtain relief
from a judgment, order, or proceeding. Id. In either case, a
proceeding as to postjudgment relief under rule 60(b) is simply a
continuation of the original proceeding and does not require that
the court in which the rule 60(b) proceeding is pending have an
independent basis of jurisdiction in order to grant such relief.
United States v. Beggerly, 524 U.S. 38, 45-46 (1998); Banker’s
Mortgage Co. v. United States, supra at 78. A rule 60(b)
proceeding is “ancillary to or a continuation of the original
suit”, Banker’s Mortgage Co. v. United States, supra at 78; see
2 Relief from a judgment because of clerical mistake is
governed by paragraph (a) of rule 60. W. Va. Oil & Gas Co. v.
George E. Breece Lumber Co., 213 F.2d 702, 705 (5th Cir. 1954);
see also Michaels v. Commissioner, 144 F.3d 495 (7th Cir. 1998),
affg. T.C. Memo. 1995-294.
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