Tarulli v. Ameriprise Financial Services
- Lewis Liman
- 1:19-cv-02039
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Tarulli v. Ameriprise Financial Services, Judge Liman granted Bart J. Tarulli 14 more days to file a notice of appeal.
Bart J. Tarulli received additional time to file a notice of appeal; Ameriprise Financial Services was required to send him the order by email, and the Clerk of Court was directed to mail him specified case documents.
What happened
In Tarulli v. Ameriprise Financial Services, Bart J. Tarulli, representing himself, asked for more time to appeal a judgment that dismissed his case against Ameriprise Financial Services.
The court said Tarulli reported learning about the judgment only through an email from Ameriprise in December 2020. The docket did not show that he had been mailed notice of the judgment, and Tarulli had not agreed to electronic service.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motion and extended Tarulli’s deadline by 14 days, until April 30, 2021. The order also required Ameriprise to email Tarulli a copy of the order and directed the Clerk of Court to mail him several case documents and a notice-of-appeal form.
The detailed version
- Tarulli v. Ameriprise Financial Services · No. 1:19-cv-02039
- Lewis Liman
- Apr. 16, 2021
Background
Bart J. Tarulli, who appeared without a lawyer, moved for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. The court had previously adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation and granted Ameriprise Financial Services’ motion to dismiss. Judgment was entered on September 25, 2020, with a notice explaining the right to appeal.
Tarulli later stated that he had not received notice of the judgment and learned about it only through an email from Ameriprise in December 2020. The motion was unopposed.
Legal standard
A civil notice of appeal ordinarily must be filed within 30 days after judgment is entered. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(6) allows a district court to reopen the appeal period for 14 days if the party did not receive required notice within 21 days, filed the motion within the rule’s time limits, and no party would be prejudiced.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 77(d) requires the Clerk of Court to serve notice of the judgment on each party who is not in default for failing to appear. The opinion also states that electronic service is appropriate only when the person to be served agreed to it in writing.
Court’s ruling
The court said it did not appear that Tarulli had been served with notice of the judgment. The docket contained no record that the judgment and notice of the right to appeal had been mailed to him, Ameriprise had submitted no affidavit showing service, and Tarulli had not consented to electronic service. Because Ameriprise did not oppose the motion and the court found no basis to conclude that Ameriprise would be prejudiced, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted Tarulli’s motion.
Tarulli’s time to file a notice of appeal was extended for 14 days from entry of the order, or until April 30, 2021. The court warned that failing to file by that date would forfeit the right to appeal. The court also ordered Ameriprise to email Tarulli a copy of the order by 5:00 p.m. on April 16, 2021, and directed the Clerk of Court to mail Tarulli the order, earlier case documents, the judgment, the notice of the right to appeal, and a notice-of-appeal form.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.