Kaambo v. The Office of the United Nations Secretary-General
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-09447
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Kaambo v. Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, Judge Swain granted more time to appeal but denied reconsideration.
Jeremiah Kuhepa Kaambo received more time to file a notice of appeal, but his request to reconsider the earlier dismissal was denied. The action remained closed, and fee-free status was denied for purposes of an appeal.
What happened
In Kaambo v. The Office of the United Nations Secretary General, the court addressed two requests after it had dismissed Jeremiah Kuhepa Kaambo’s complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The court granted Kaambo’s request for more time to file a notice of appeal, citing his explanation about difficulty receiving mail and his lack of a lawyer. It denied his request to reconsider the earlier dismissal because he did not show a qualifying reason for relief under the applicable rule.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action remain closed. The court said the appeal was not being pursued in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of the appeal.
The detailed version
- Kaambo v. The Office of the United Nations Secretary-General · No. 1:22-cv-09447
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 30, 2023
Background
Jeremiah Kuhepa Kaambo filed the action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying filing fees. The court had previously dismissed his complaint against The Office of the United Nations Secretary General for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court entered judgment on February 24, 2023, and later issued an amended order and judgment to correct a clerical error in the caption.
Kaambo filed a notice of appeal and a motion for more time to file that notice. He also moved for reconsideration of the dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). He said he missed the filing deadline because the mail at his residence was not secure and he had to travel to a post-office box to retrieve his mail.
Extension of Time to Appeal
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5) allows a district court to extend the appeal deadline when the motion is filed within the required period and the party shows excusable neglect or good cause. Considering Kaambo’s explanation and his lack of a lawyer, the court granted his motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal.
Motion for Reconsideration
Rule 60(b) permits relief from an order or judgment for specified reasons, including mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud or misconduct, a void judgment, satisfaction or reversal of the judgment, or another reason that justifies relief. Kaambo argued that the case concerned saving lives and avoiding genocide like the Rwandan genocide.
The court concluded that, even under a broad reading of his motion, Kaambo had not shown that any of the first five Rule 60(b) grounds applied. The court also denied relief under Rule 60(b)(6), which requires a reason outside the first five categories and extraordinary circumstances warranting relief.
Disposition
The court granted Kaambo’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal and denied his motion for reconsideration. The action remained closed, and the Clerk of Court was directed to accept only documents addressed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The court also certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.