IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2633 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to clarify the time 

limits for appeals in civil cases to which United States 

officers or employees are parties. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Appeal Time Clarifica3 tion Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) section 2107 of title 28, United States 

7 Code, and rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate 

8 Procedure provide that the time to appeal for most 

9 civil actions is 30 days, but that the appeal time for 

10 all parties is 60 days when the parties in the civil 

11 action include the United States, a United States of12 ficer, or a United States agency; 

13 (2) the 60-day period should apply if 1 of the 

14 parties is— 

15 (A) the United States; 

16 (B) a United States agency; 

17 (C) a United States officer or employee 

18 sued in an official capacity; or 

19 (D) a current or former United States offi20 cer or employee sued in an individual capacity 

21 for an act or omission occurring in connection 

22 with duties performed on behalf of the United 

23 States; 

24 (3) section 2107 of title 28, United States 

25 Code, and rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate 

26 Procedure (as amended to take effect on December 


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1 1, 2011, in accordance with section 2074 of that 

2 title) should uniformly apply the 60-day period to 

3 those civil actions relating to a Federal officer or 

4 employee sued in an individual capacity for an act 

5 or omission occurring in connection with Federal du6 ties; 

7 (4) the civil actions to which the 60-day periods 

8 should apply include all civil actions in which a legal 

9 officer of the United States represents the relevant 

10 officer or employee when the judgment or order is 

11 entered or in which the United States files the ap12 peal for that officer or employee; and 

13 (5) the application of the 60-day period in sec14 tion 2107 of title 28, United States Code, and rule 

15 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure— 

16 (A) is not limited to civil actions in which 

17 representation of the United States is provided 

18 by the Department of Justice; and 

19 (B) includes all civil actions in which the 

20 representation of the United States is provided 

21 by a Federal legal officer acting in an official 

22 capacity, such as civil actions in which a Mem23 ber, officer, or employee of the Senate or the 

24 House of Representatives is represented by the 

25 Office of Senate Legal Counsel or the Office of 


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1 General Counsel of the House of Representa2 tives. 

3 SEC. 3. TIME FOR APPEALS IN CERTAIN CASES. 

4 Section 2107 of title 28, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘order or decree’’ each 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘order, or de9 cree’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘suit or proceeding’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘suit, or proceeding’’; and 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘filed, within thirty’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘filed within 30’’; and 

14 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(b) In any such action, suit, or proceeding, the time 

17 as to all parties shall be 60 days from such entry if one 

18 of the parties is— 

19 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

20 ‘‘(2) an agency of the United States; 

21 ‘‘(3) an officer or employee of the United States 

22 who is sued in an official capacity; or 

23 ‘‘(4) a current or former officer or employee of 

24 the United States who is sued in an individual ca25 pacity for an act or omission occurring in connection 


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1 with duties performed on behalf of the United 

2 States, including any instance in which the United 

3 States represents that person when the judgment, 

4 order, or decree is entered or files the appeal for 

5 that person.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

8 on December 1, 2011. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 

2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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