Smith v. Doe (Mississippi 2018)

A party must move to set aside a final judgment within six months if the party is alleging misconduct by the other party as the grounds for the set aside. In the case at hand, the father and mother settled their divorce. The terms included a higher than guideline amount of child support and father assuming the majority of the child’s expenses. The father moved to set aside the divorce decree two years after entry, alleging the mother coerced him into settling. The lower court denied his motion, and he appealed. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, finding that if the mother did commit misconduct, the father knew about it at the time he signed the agreement. He should have moved to set aside within the required six months.