Исковая жалоба после вынесения решения (Audita Querela)

Audita querela (Law Latin for "[the] complaint [having been] heard") is a writ, stemming from English common law, that serves to permit a defendant who has had a judgment rendered against him or her to seek relief of the consequences of such a judgment where there is some new evidence or legal defense that was not previously available. The writ is thus generally used to prevent a judgment from being executed where enforcement of that judgment would be "contrary to justice". At common law, the writ may be useful where a creditor engages in fraud before the judgment is rendered, or because the debt had been discharged, paid or otherwise satisfied after the judgment is rendered. The writ has existed at various times in England, Canada and the United States, and possibly Scotland. In England, it fell out of use in favor of less expensive remedies, and was ultimately abolished in 1875. In Canada, the writ has either fallen into disuse or been abolished entirely. In United States federal civil law, it was abolished by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1948, but still exists in the civil procedure of some states. The writ has also been adopted to some specialized United States federal criminal practice, especially involving the effects of sentences on immigration law. As to Scotland, few records exist as to the writ, though equivalent actions exist.

In United States jurisprudence, the writ of audita querela functioned as a common law action, sounding in tort. As in England, the writ had to be brought in the trial court that rendered the original judgment. An essential element of bringing an action at audita querela was injury or danger thereof, and it had to be brought between the two parties of the earlier proceeding that rendered the judgment. It also required that, if there were multiple defendants subject to the original judgment, they all take part in the proceeding unless the defendant bringing the suit was the sole defendant subject to execution and only brought the suit to vacate the judgment. The writ saw use in a great variety of circumstances and situations, but there were two primary uses. First, like in England, the writ could be used when a defense was not brought during the earlier trial because it was unavailable, or if the debt subject to the judgment had since been discharged. Second, the writ started to be extended to situations arising prior to judgment, such as where a creditor sought and obtained a judgment in an improper way that deprived the debtor of the chance to defend against the case in court.

Audita querela was abolished in United States federal civil procedure in 1948 by Rule 60(b), which provides the procedure for relief from a final judgment through a motion. The specific language of Rule 60(b) that abolished the writ was moved to 60(e) in 2007. The writ has been explicitly abolished in the states of Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington. In Ohio, it is said that audita querela is not part of the law. In federal criminal procedure, the writ may sometimes be used to contest a conviction on legal grounds where there is no other postconviction remedy available. In this sense, audita querela, along with other common law remedies, serves to fill gaps in the system of postconviction remedies. A specific situation in which this has been used is to avoid the immigration consequences of a conviction. Another case in which it has been used has been to vacate a long past conviction with a law which has since been judged unconstitutional. With respect to state criminal proceedings, while it has been said that the writ is inapplicable, there is authority to the contrary.

Audita querela serves to permit a defendant who has had a judgment rendered against him or her to seek relief of the consequences of such a judgment where there is some new evidence or legal defense that was not previously available. The writ is thus generally used to prevent a judgment from being executed where enforcement of that judgment would be "contrary to justice". At common law, the writ may be useful where a creditor engages in fraud before the judgment is rendered, or because the debt had been discharged, paid or otherwise satisfied after the judgment is rendered. The writ is distinguished from other remedies primarily in terms of the timing of the grounds for objecting to the judgment, rather than the actual nature of the grounds, It may be further distinguished from the writ of coram nobis in that the latter is used to vacate a judgment, rather than the consequences of a judgment. Thus, audita querela may issue against judgments that were valid when rendered, while coram nobis would be used against judgments that were never valid.