The Finality of an Order Granting a Rule 60(B) Motion for Relief from Judgment: Some Footnotes to GTE Automatic Electric, Inc. v. Arc Industries, Inc.

Is an order granting a Rule 60(B) motion for relief from judgment a final order for the purpose of appeal? In GTE Automatic Electric, Inc. v. ARC Industries, Inc., the Ohio Supreme Court answered the question in the affirmative with respect to default judgments. However, because the court's answer contains some inherent ambiguities, because default judgments comprise only one type of judgment subject to a Rule 60(B) motion for relief from judgment, and because of the variety of relief that may be granted pursuant to such a motion, the question deserves further consideration. This article begins that consideration, examines some of the principal difficulties inherent in the supreme court's approach, and suggests a rather simple solution which avoids those difficulties.