Task: songer_method

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals. Your task is to determine the nature of the proceeding in the court of appeals for the case, that is, the legal history of the case, indicating whether there had been prior appellate court proceeding on the same case prior to the decision currently coded. Assume that the case had been decided by the panel for the first time if there was no indication to the contrary in the opinion. The opinion usually, but not always, explicitly indicates when a decision was made "en banc" (though the spelling of "en banc" varies). However, if more than 3 judges were listed as participating in the decision, code the decision as enbanc even if there was no explicit description of the proceeding as en banc.

PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff-appellant Peter Thomas attempts to appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, granting defendant-appellee Morton International, Inc.’s motion to dismiss. Not having timely filed a notice of appeal in compliance with the requirements of Fed.R.App.P. 4(a), Thomas now argues that his timely motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal, which he filed in the district court, should be regarded by us as the informal and functional equivalent of a notice of appeal.
We are unable to accept appellant’s contention. We start with the premise — not seriously contested by appellant — that the filing of a timely notice of appeal is an essential prerequisite to our appellate jurisdiction. E.g., United States v. Gibson, 568 F.2d 111 (8th Cir.1978). We recognize, as Fed.R.App.P. 3(c) provides, that an appeal “shall not be dismissed for informality of form or title of the notice of appeal.” The history behind this proviso indicates that courts have, at times, interpreted the formal requirements of a notice to appeal liberally, especially in cases of uncounseled persons like pro se prisoners, where letters evidencing a desire to appeal have been accepted as timely, informal notices of appeal. See, e.g., Bach v. Coughlin, 508 F.2d 303 (7th Cir.1974). Appellant here, however, was and is represented by counsel, and his motion for extension of time in no way purported to place the court and opposing party on notice that he was at that time appealing, and that the motion was meant functionally to be the requisite notice of appeal. Rather the motion was a request to the court for additional time within which to file the required notice. To treat such a request for extra time as the notice itself would be to render the notice requirement meaningless. Thomas’ attorney clearly recognized the difference between the two documents when, out of time, he later filed a notice of appeal. His earlier motion to extend time was something altogether different. As no timely notice was filed, we lack jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal.
We direct the Clerk to send a copy of this opinion to appellant personally as well as to his counsel.
Appeal dismissed. Costs to appellee.

Question: What is the nature of the proceeding in the court of appeals for this case?
A. decided by panel for first time (no indication of re-hearing or remand)
B. decided by panel after re-hearing (second time this case has been heard by this same panel)
C. decided by panel after remand from Supreme Court
D. decided by court en banc, after single panel decision
E. decided by court en banc, after multiple panel decisions
F. decided by court en banc, no prior panel decisions
G. decided by panel after remand to lower court
H. other
I. not ascertained
Answer:

Answer: A