Rule 52. Findings by the court; correction of the record.
(a) Effect. In all actions tried
upon the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court shall find
the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon, and
judgment shall be entered pursuant to Rule 58A; in granting or refusing
interlocutory injunctions the court shall similarly set forth the findings of
fact and conclusions of law which constitute the grounds of its action.
Requests for findings are not necessary for purposes of review. Findings of
fact, whether based on oral or documentary evidence, shall not be set aside
unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of
the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. The findings of a
master, to the extent that the court adopts them, shall be considered as the
findings of the court. It will be sufficient if the findings of fact and
conclusions of law are stated orally and recorded in open court following the
close of the evidence or appear in an opinion or memorandum of decision filed
by the court. The trial court need not enter findings of fact and conclusions
of law in rulings on motions, except as provided in Rule 41(b). The court
shall, however, issue a brief written statement of the ground for its decision
on all motions granted under Rules 12(b), 50(a) and (b), 56, and 59 when the
motion is based on more than one ground.
(b) Amendment. Upon motion of a
party made not later than 10 days after entry of judgment the court may amend
its findings or make additional findings and may amend the judgment accordingly.
The motion may be made with a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59. When
findings of fact are made in actions tried by the court without a jury, the
question of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the findings may
thereafter be raised whether or not the party raising the question has made in
the district court an objection to such findings or has made either a motion to
amend them, a motion for judgment, or a motion for a new trial.
(c) Waiver of findings of fact
and conclusions of law. Except in actions for divorce, findings of fact and
conclusions of law may be waived by the parties to an issue of fact:
(c)(1) by default or by failing
to appear at the trial;
(c)(2) by consent in writing,
filed in the cause;
(c)(3) by oral consent in open
court, entered in the minutes.
(d) Correction of the record. If
anything material is omitted from or misstated in the transcript of an audio or
video record of a hearing or trial, or if a disagreement arises as to whether
the record accurately discloses what occurred in the proceeding, a party may
move to correct the record. The motion must be filed within 10 days after the
transcript of the hearing is filed, unless good cause is shown. The omission,
misstatement or disagreement shall be resolved by the court and the record made
to accurately reflect the proceeding.