Davis v. Port Jervis Community Development
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-01341
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Davis v. Port Jervis Community Development: Judge Stanton denied as moot Davis’s extension request and ordered him to file a notice of appeal.
Daryl J. Davis, whose request for an extension was denied as moot and who was directed to file a notice of appeal within 30 days; the appeal process would proceed to the Second Circuit if he complied.
What happened
In Daryl J. Davis v. Port Jervis Community Development, the court had dismissed Davis’s complaint for failure to state a claim. Davis asked for more time to appeal, but he had not filed a notice of appeal.
The court explained that an appeal requires a notice identifying the order being challenged and that the usual deadline in a civil case is 30 days after judgment. Although Davis’s extension request showed that he intended to appeal and was filed within that period, the request was not itself a notice of appeal.
Judge Louis L. Stanton denied Davis’s motion for an extension of time as moot. He directed Davis to file a notice of appeal within 30 days; if Davis does so, the court will treat the earlier motion as a timely notice of appeal and the new notice as an additional filing.
The detailed version
- Davis v. Port Jervis Community Development · No. 1:20-cv-01341
- Louis Stanton
- June 9, 2021
Background
The court had dismissed Daryl J. Davis’s complaint for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). That dismissal order was entered on April 27, 2021. On May 24, while the time to appeal was still open, Davis filed a motion asking for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. He did not file a notice of appeal with the motion.
Court’s analysis
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c)(1)(B) requires a notice of appeal to identify the judgment, order, or part of an order being challenged. Rule 4(a)(1)(A) generally requires a notice of appeal in a civil case to be filed within 30 days after judgment is entered. The court concluded that Davis’s motion was filed within that 30-day period and showed his intent to appeal the dismissal, but the motion was not itself a notice of appeal.
Ruling
The court denied Davis’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal as moot. It directed Davis to complete and return the attached notice-of-appeal form within 30 days of the order. If he complies, the court will construe his motion for an extension as a timely filed notice of appeal and the notice of appeal as a supplemental filing. After Davis files the notice, the action will be transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.