Muzumala v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08423
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Muzumala v. City of New York, Judge Swain denied as unnecessary Muzumala’s request for more time to appeal.
Joshua Muzumala’s request for more time to appeal was denied as unnecessary; his appeal was already pending in the Second Circuit, but the Court denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.
What happened
In Muzumala v. City of New York, Joshua Muzumala, who represented himself, asked for more time to appeal an order dismissing his reconsideration request as late. The court had previously dismissed his complaint for failing to state a valid claim.
Muzumala filed his appeal notice on March 27, 2024, within 30 days after the March 18 order. Because the appeal was timely, the court found that he did not need an extension.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied the extension request as unnecessary and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate it. The appeal had already been sent to the Second Circuit and was pending, but the court denied Muzumala permission to appeal without paying filing fees because it certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Muzumala v. The City of New York · No. 1:22-cv-08423
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 11, 2024
Background
Joshua Muzumala filed this action without a lawyer and without paying the filing fee. On October 10, 2023, the Court dismissed his complaint for failure to state a claim and entered judgment. Muzumala later sought more time to file a request asking the Court to reconsider that dismissal. The Court treated that request as one under Southern District of New York Local Rule 6.3 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), and dismissed it as untimely in an order dated March 18, 2024. The Court informed him that he could seek relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b).
On March 27, 2024, Muzumala filed a request for more time to appeal the March 18 order, along with declarations and a notice of appeal. The Clerk’s Office transmitted the notice of appeal and a certified docket sheet to the Second Circuit that same day.
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. The Court determined that Muzumala’s March 27 notice was filed within 30 days of the March 18 order. The notice was therefore timely, making a request for more time unnecessary.
Ruling
The Court denied Muzumala’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal as unnecessary and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate that motion. The Court noted that the appeal had been transmitted to the Second Circuit and was pending. 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 permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.