Report No. 65
16.2. Grounds of attack on judgment.-
The attacks on a judgment may be classified as collateral, direct and equitable. A collateral attack operates in regard to a judgment only if it is void for want of jurisdiction, the theory being that a Court without the power to act can, in no way, affect legal relations.1 Direct attack on a, judgment is an attempt in the original proceeding to have the judgment set aside for error. Lastly, a prayer for equitable relief-either by way of an independent proceeding or by way of defence-protects a party from the effect of a judgment sought to have been obtained by improper means. Fraud belongs to the last category.
1. Note, "X Developments-See judicata", (1952) Harvard Law Review 818, 850.