Watkins v. AHRC
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-10878
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Watkins v. AHRC, Judge Swain denied Watkins’s late request to extend her appeal deadline and denied appeal-related fee waiver.
Shawnneka Watkins, whose request to extend the appeal deadline was denied and whose request to proceed without paying appeal filing fees was also denied.
What happened
In Watkins v. AHRC, Shawnneka Watkins asked the court to extend the deadline for filing an appeal from the earlier dismissal of her complaint. She filed the request on November 3, 2022, more than a year after judgment was entered.
The court explained that civil appeals generally must be filed within 30 days after judgment. An extension is available only if requested within an additional 30-day period and supported by a legally acceptable reason. Because Watkins waited 563 days, the court concluded it lacked authority to extend the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Watkins’s motion for an extension of time to appeal. The court also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied her permission to proceed without paying the appeal filing fees.
The detailed version
- Watkins v. AHRC · No. 1:20-cv-10878
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 16, 2023
Background
The court had dismissed Shawnneka Watkins’s complaint as frivolous on April 19, 2021, and entered judgment that day. On November 3, 2022, Watkins filed a notice of appeal and a motion seeking more time to file the notice of appeal. The opinion notes that both documents were entered on the docket on November 10, 2022.
Applicable rule
Under Rule 4(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, a notice of appeal in a civil case generally must be filed within 30 days after judgment is entered. Rule 4(a)(5) allows a district court to grant a limited extension only when the motion is filed no later than 30 days after the original appeal period ends and the party establishes excusable neglect or good cause.
Court’s reasoning
The court calculated that Watkins filed her motion 563 days after judgment—one year, six months, and 15 days later. Because the motion was not filed within the permitted additional 30-day period, the court concluded that it did not have authority under the appellate rules to extend the appeal deadline.
Ruling
The court denied Watkins’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal. It 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 permission to proceed without paying the appeal filing fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.