Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-16-05173/USCOURTS-ca10-16-05173-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
City of Sand Springs Municipality
Appellee
Gary Braunson Secor
Appellant
State of Oklahoma
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

_________________________________

GARY BRAUNSON SECOR, 

 Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA; CITY OF 

SAND SPRINGS MUNICIPALITY, 

 Defendants - Appellees.

No. 16-5173

(D.C. No. 4:16-CV-00085-JED-PJC)

(N.D. Okla.)

_________________________________

ORDER

_________________________________

Before KELLY, BRISCOE, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________

We raise sua sponte the question of whether this court has jurisdiction to consider 

this appeal. 

In a civil case in which the United States is not a party, a notice of appeal must be 

filed within 30 days of entry of the order being appealed. See 28 U.S.C. § 2107(a) 

(providing that a notice of appeal in a civil matter must be filed within 30 days of entry of 

judgment); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A) (same). 

Pro se Appellant Gary Braunson Secor asserts that he believed that he had 30 

business days to file the notice of appeal. Ignorance of the law does not excuse prompt 

filing, however. See Marsh v. Soares, 223 F.3d 1217, 1220 (10th Cir. 2000). Moreover, 

this court does not have the discretion to allow an untimely notice of appeal; a timely 

FILED

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

December 16, 2016

Elisabeth A. Shumaker

Clerk of Court

Appellate Case: 16-5173 Document: 01019736538 Date Filed: 12/16/2016 Page: 1 
2

notice of appeal in a civil case is both mandatory and jurisdictional. See Bowles v. 

Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). The district court entered final judgment on October 

21, 2016. Mr. Secor filed a notice of appeal on November 30, 2016, beyond the required 

30-day period. 

Because the notice of appeal is beyond Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure’s 

4(a)(1)(A)’s 30-day period, it is untimely, and the court lacks jurisdiction over this 

appeal. 

APPEAL DISMISSED.

Entered for the Court

ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk

by: Lindy Lucero Schaible

 Counsel to the Clerk

Appellate Case: 16-5173 Document: 01019736538 Date Filed: 12/16/2016 Page: 2