MCBRIDE v. MOST 11D (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.2021-07-23No. No. 21-6302

Summary · law.co

Holding. The appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because McBride failed to file a timely notice of appeal within 30 days of the district court's final order and did not obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period.

Jerome McBride appealed a district court order that dismissed his civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without prejudice for failing to follow a court directive. The district court entered its dismissal order on November 30, 2020, but McBride did not file his notice of appeal until February 23, 2021—nearly three months later. Federal appellate rules require parties to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of a final order unless the district court grants an extension or reopens the deadline, and this deadline is a mandatory requirement that goes to the appellate court's jurisdiction to hear the case.

Because McBride missed the 30-day filing deadline and obtained neither an extension nor a reopening of the appeal period, the appellate court lacked jurisdiction to review the case. The court noted that subsequent filings McBride attempted to make after the case closed did not restart the appeal clock, and the district court's later orders denying those filings were not final appealable orders themselves.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Timeliness of notice of appeal in civil cases
Jurisdictional requirements for appellate review
Effect of post-closure filings on appeal deadlines

Procedural posture

McBride appealed the district court's November 30, 2020 dismissal order, filing his notice of appeal on February 23, 2021.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

Jerome McBride seeks to appeal the district courts order dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with a court order. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed.

In civil cases, parties have 30 days after the entry of the district courts final judgment or order to note an appeal, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), unless the district court extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5) or reopens the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). “[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214, 127 S.Ct. 2360, 168 L.Ed.2d 96 (2007). The district court entered its final order on November 30, 2020.

McBride filed the notice of appeal on February 23, 2021.

Because McBride failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we dismiss the appeal. We deny McBrides pending appellate motion. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED

FOOTNOTES

. We note that the pleadings McBride attempted to file following case closure did not toll the time for appealing the district courts November 30, 2020, order. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4). Moreover, the district courts “return pleading orders,” entered on December 3, 2020, and January 26, 2021, respectively, are not final orders subject to appellate review. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 2

. For the purpose of this appeal, we assume that the date appearing on the notice of appeal is the earliest date it could have been delivered to prison officials for mailing to the court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276, 108 S.Ct. 2379, 101 L.Ed.2d 245 (1988).

PER CURIAM:

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.