California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Seehausen, B257858 (Cal. App. 2015):
We conclude the trial court properly denied defendant's motions below. "'[T]here is no statutory authority for a trial court to entertain a postjudgment motion that is unrelated to any proceeding then pending before the court. [Citation.] Indeed, a motion is not an independent remedy. It is ancillary to an ongoing action and "'implies the pendency of a suit between the parties and is confined to incidental matters in the progress of the cause. As the rule is sometimes expressed, a motion relates to some question collateral to the main object of the action and is connected with, and dependent on, the principal remedy."' [Citation.] In most cases, after the judgment has become final, there is nothing pending to which a motion may attach.' [Citation.]" (People v. Picklesimer (2010) 48 Cal.4th 330, 337.)
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