Jeanty v. United Parcel Service

Background

Kervin Jeanty brought the action without a lawyer against United Parcel Service, Carol B. Tome, and John Doe (1). The court ordered Jeanty to file an amended complaint within 30 days. When he did not do so, the court dismissed the complaint and entered judgment on December 14, 2021.

Jeanty then asked for additional time, stating that he was detained in the Orange County Jail. The court granted that request, vacated the earlier dismissal and judgment, reopened the action, and again ordered him to file an amended complaint. Jeanty did not file one. The court dismissed the action and entered judgment again on February 22, 2022. Copies of the order and judgment were mailed to Jeanty’s address of record and to the Orange County Jail; the copy sent to the jail was later returned as undeliverable.

Motion for More Time to Appeal

Jeanty filed a motion for an extension of time to appeal and a notice of appeal on April 26, 2022. He said he had been incarcerated or under quarantine and lacked access to legal materials from October 7, 2021, through March 25, 2022.

Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(1)(A), a civil notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days after judgment. Rule 4(a)(5) permits a limited extension if the motion is filed within the time allowed by that rule and the party shows good cause or excusable neglect. The court held that Jeanty’s motion was filed too late for an extension under Rule 4(a)(5). The opinion refers to the motion as filed 62 days after judgment in one passage and 63 days after judgment in another.

The court also treated the motion as potentially seeking to reopen the appeal period under Rule 4(a)(6). That rule requires, among other things, that the motion be filed within 14 days after the party receives notice of the judgment, or within 180 days after entry of judgment, whichever comes first. The court assumed for purposes of the order that Jeanty received notice on March 25, 2022, when his stated period of incarceration and quarantine ended. Because he filed the motion 32 days later, the court held that he did not satisfy the 14-day requirement. The court therefore denied the motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal.

Other Ruling

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Jeanty permission to appeal without paying the required filing costs.

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Jeanty’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. The court also denied his ability to proceed without paying filing costs for an appeal from this order.