Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-almd-3_03-cv-00953/USCOURTS-almd-3_03-cv-00953-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jo Anne B. Barnhart
Defendant
Hubbard J. Tatum
Plaintiff

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

EASTERN DIVISION

HUBBARD J. TATUM, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:03cv953-M

) [WO]

JO ANNE B. BARNHART, )

Commissioner of Social Security, )

)

Defendant. )

ORDER ON MOTION

This matter is before the court on the defendant’s [“Commissioner”] Motion to

Reconsider (Doc. # 20) the court’s previous order (Doc. # 19) denying the Commissioner’s

Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59

[“Motion to Alter or Amend”] (Doc. # 16) on the grounds that the motion was untimely. For

the reasons stated herein, the Commissioner’s motion is granted, and the court’s previous

order (Doc. # 19) is vacated. 

Final judgment was entered in this case on 20 April 2004 (Doc. # 15). On 4 May

2004, 14 calendar days after judgment was entered, the Commissioner filed her Motion to

Alter or Amend (Doc. # 16), which the court found to be untimely because it exceeded the

relevant rule’s 10-day time limitation for filing such motions. FED. R. CIV. P. 59(e). As the

Commissioner correctly notes, the court’s calculation included the intervening Saturdays and

Sundays, which was error. FED. R. CIV. P. 6(a); see also FED. R. CIV. P. 59 advisory

committee’s note, 1995 Amendments (“It should also be noted that under Rule 6(a)

Case 3:03-cv-00953-VPM Document 24 Filed 12/01/05 Page 1 of 2
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Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded in measuring the 10-day period . . ..”).

Excluding Saturdays and Sundays, the correct deadline for filing a motion pursuant

to Rule 59 was 4 May 2004. 

CONCLUSION

Therefore, is hereby 

ORDERED as follows:

1) the Commissioner’s Motion to Reconsider (Doc. # 20) is GRANTED;

and

2) this court’s order dated 21 May 2004 (Doc. # 19) is VACATED.

DONE this 1 day of December, 2005. st

/s/ Vanzetta Penn McPherson

VANZETTA PENN MCPHERSON

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 3:03-cv-00953-VPM Document 24 Filed 12/01/05 Page 2 of 2