MARCIA MORALES HOWARD, District Judge.
A motion to alter or amend a judgment may be filed pursuant to Rule 59(e).
The purpose of Rule 59 is not to ask the Court to reexamine an unfavorable ruling in the absence of a manifest error of law or fact.
Of the limited grounds for relief under Rule 59(e), Mrs. Kornacki argues that reconsideration is necessary here to correct clear error and prevent manifest injustice.
Mrs. Kornacki has presented no basis for the Court to reconsider or amend its Summary Judgment Order. She contends that the Court considered Raulerson's testimony for an impermissible purpose, but her argument misconstrues the Court's holding. The Court concluded that Raulerson's testimony was relevant only to establish what Dr. Kornacki said to Raulerson. The Court did not consider it as evidence of Dr. Kornacki's subjective intent when he said the words about which Raulerson testified, nor was it required to do so. All that matters is whether Dr. Kornacki told Raulerson to cancel the automatic draft, and Raulerson's testimony in that regard—that is, the words Dr. Kornacki spoke to him—is undisputed. To the extent that Mrs. Kornacki contends SFBLIC needed to demonstrate Dr. Kornacki's subjective intent, her argument further fails because she points to no evidence suggesting that Dr. Kornacki did not mean what he expressly said to Raulerson.
Mrs. Kornacki also contends that the Court overlooked evidence undermining Raulerson's credibility, specifically pointing to (1) Raulerson's testimony that his agent portal showed that Dr. Kornacki's policy was in force on the date Dr. Kornacki died and (2) the fact that Raulerson could recall his conversation with Dr. Kornacki in detail but could not remember who else he had talked to that day. Motion at 5-7. She argues that that evidence suggests that Raulerson fabricated his testimony that Dr. Kornacki had told him to cancel the automatic payment. Id. In doing so, Mrs. Kornacki presents a new argument that she did not raise in her briefing on the Summary Judgment Motion. See generally Docs. 33, 40. Because she has offered no explanation for why she was unable to advance that argument earlier, the Court need not consider it. See O'Neal, 958 F.2d at 1047. In any event, the Court fails to see how the evidence that Mrs. Kornacki cites affects the Court's reasons for granting summary judgment in SFBLIC's favor.
Mrs. Kornacki also contends that the Court sua sponte considered an argument not advanced by SFBLIC: that whether Dr. Kornacki delivered a check to Raulerson's office was immaterial because a jury could not reasonably infer that any check was for the full semi-annual premium, as required by the notice Dr. Kornacki had received. Motion at 8. As SFBLIC observes, however, SFBLIC in fact did argue in its briefing that Dr. Kornacki was required to pay the full semi-annual premium and that there was no evidence of the amount on the check. See Summary Judgment Motion at 14-15, 19, 21-22; Doc. 38 at 7. The Court therefore did not sua sponte raise that argument for SFBLIC.
Finally, Mrs. Kornacki contends that the Court clearly erred in concluding that whether Dr. Kornacki delivered the check was immaterial because (1) the Court failed to account for the fact that the check was from Dr. Kornacki's business account, and (2) the check could have been a voided check provided to reestablish Dr. Kornacki's automatic payments. Motion at 8-9. As to the first argument, the Court expressly recognized that the check purportedly was from Dr. Kornacki's business account. See Summary Judgment Order at 8. That fact does not affect the determination of the reasonableness of any inference that the check Dr. Kornacki allegedly provided was for the full semi-annual premium because there is no evidence of the amount of the check, and Dr. Kornacki's statement that the full amount was not in his budget was not confined to only his personal finances. Mrs. Kornacki raises the second argument for the first time in the context of this Motion. Throughout her briefing on summary judgment, Mrs. Kornacki argued only that Dr. Kornacki's check was a premium payment. See generally Docs. 33, 40. As such, the Court need not consider her new, alternative theory. In any event, there is no evidence suggesting that the check was voided
Mrs. Kornacki is not entitled to raise new arguments or relitigate old ones through her Motion for Reconsideration. After considering her arguments, the Court finds no reason to reconsider its Summary Judgment Order. In light of the foregoing, the Motion is due to be denied. Accordingly, it is hereby
Plaintiff Debra Kornacki's Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 61) is
In her Motion, Mrs. Kornacki cites both Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b) as the basis for the relief she seeks. Motion at 1. Upon review of the Motion, it appears that Mrs. Kornacki seeks reconsideration of the merits of the dispute addressed in the Court's Summary Judgment Order, consistent with the purposes of Rule 59(e).