Hunt v. Bronx Lebanon Hospital
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-00054
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hunt v. Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Judge Swain denied Hunt’s motion to extend the appeal deadline and denied appeal fee-waiver status.
James Hunt, whose request to extend the notice-of-appeal deadline was denied and whose request to appeal without paying the required fees was also denied.
What happened
In Hunt v. Bronx Lebanon Hospital, the court had previously dismissed James Hunt’s complaint for failing to state a claim, allowed him 30 days to amend it, and entered judgment after he did not file an amended complaint. Hunt later filed a notice of appeal and asked for more time to file it.
The court said a civil appeal normally must be filed within 30 days after judgment. It also said a request for more time must be filed within the additional period allowed by the appellate rules. Because Hunt filed his request 63 days after judgment, the court concluded that it had no authority to extend the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Hunt’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. She also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Hunt permission to appeal without paying the required fees.
The detailed version
- Hunt v. Bronx Lebanon Hospital · No. 1:22-cv-00054
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 28, 2022
Background
The court had dismissed James Hunt’s complaint on May 16, 2022, for failure to state a claim and gave him 30 days to file an amended complaint. Hunt did not file an amended pleading within that period. The court entered judgment on June 22, 2022.
On August 24, 2022, Hunt filed a notice of appeal and a motion asking for an extension of time to file the notice. The court addressed only that extension request in this order.
Reasoning
Rule 4(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure generally requires a notice of appeal in a civil case to be filed within 30 days after judgment. Rule 4(a)(5) permits a district court to grant a limited extension if the request is filed within the rule’s additional time limit and the party shows excusable neglect or good cause.
The court stated that Hunt filed his motion 63 days after judgment was entered on June 22, 2022. It noted that the deadline for requesting an extension fell on Sunday, August 21, 2022, and therefore moved to Monday, August 22, 2022. Because Hunt filed on August 24, the court concluded that the request was untimely and that it lacked authority to extend the appeal deadline. The court therefore denied the motion without reaching the merits of the underlying complaint or appeal.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Hunt’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Hunt permission to proceed without paying the required fees for that appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.