Shah v. United States
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-02049
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In B.K. Shah v. United States, Judge Swain denied Shah’s appeal-extension request as unnecessary and denied fee-free appeal status.
B.K. Shah, whose request for additional appeal time was denied as unnecessary and whose request to appeal without paying court fees was denied; the United States of America was the defendant.
What happened
In B.K. Shah v. United States of America, B.K. Shah asked for more time to file an appeal after the court dismissed his complaint without prejudice. He made the request before the time to appeal had expired.
The court explained that a civil appeal involving the United States may be filed within 60 days after judgment. Because Shah still had time to appeal, the court found that an extension was unnecessary.
Judge Swain denied the extension request as unnecessary. The court also said Shah could appeal within 60 days of the March 16, 2022 judgment, but denied his request to appeal without paying court fees because it certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Shah v. United States · No. 1:22-cv-02049
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 31, 2022
Background
The court had previously dismissed B.K. Shah’s complaint without prejudice because he had not complied with a requirement from a prior related proceeding that he obtain the court’s permission before filing a new action. Judgment in this case was entered on March 16, 2022. On March 31, while the time to appeal had not expired, Shah filed a letter asking for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(1)(A) generally requires a notice of appeal in a civil case to be filed within 30 days after judgment. Rule 4(a)(1)(B)(ii) provides a 60-day deadline when one party is a United States agency. Because Shah sought to bring claims against the United States of America, the court concluded that he could file a notice of appeal within 60 days after the March 16 judgment. His deadline therefore had not expired, making an extension unnecessary.
Disposition
The court denied Shah’s request for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal as unnecessary. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal from the order. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.