Opinion ID: 470078
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 7 As a threshold matter, we address the Board's contention that we lack jurisdiction to hear this appeal as a result of CARD's failure to file its formal notice of appeal within the period of time prescribed by Fed.R.App.P. 4(a). In relevant part, Rule 4(a) provides that 8 [i]n a civil case in which an appeal is permitted by law as of right ... the notice of appeal ... shall be filed with the clerk of the district court within 30 days after the date of entry of the judgment or order appealed from .... 4 9 The provisions of Rule 4(a) are both mandatory and jurisdictional. Browder v. Director, Illinois Department of Corrections, 434 U.S. 257, 264, 98 S.Ct. 556, 560, 54 L.Ed.2d 521 (1978). 10 The district court entered an order denying CARD's request for a preliminary injunction on June 14, 1983. On June 24, 1983 rather than filing a notice of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a), as it should have, CARD filed a motion for permission to appeal the order under Fed.R.App.P. 5(a). The latter rule provides that a district judge may certify an appeal from an order not otherwise appealable. The district court denied this motion on July 11, 1983. On July 19, 1983, CARD filed a Rule 4(a) notice of appeal. 11 Because CARD's formal Rule 4(a) notice of appeal was not filed within the period of time required by the rule, its appeal is timely only if we construe its Rule 5(a) motion as a notice of appeal. Fed.R.App. 3(c) requires us to construe CARD's Rule 5(a) motion in that manner. Rule 3(c) provides that [a]n appeal shall not be dismissed for informality of form or title of the notice of appeal. Pursuant to this rule, we are required to broadly construe the notice of appeal provisions of Rule 4(a). See Cel-A-Pak v. California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, 680 F.2d 664, 667 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1071, 103 S.Ct. 491, 74 L.Ed.2d 633 (1982) (Rule 3(c) mandates liberality in determining compliance with Rule 4(a)). Moreover, we have discretion, where the interests of substantive justice require it, to disregard irregularities in the form or procedure for filing a notice of appeal. Id. 12 In Cel-A-Pak, we recognized that documents not formally denominated notices of appeal have nevertheless been treated as such as long as they clearly evince the party's intent to appeal and provide notice to both the opposing party and the court. Id. (citations omitted). See also Cobb v. Lewis, 488 F.2d 41, 44 (5th Cir.1974). Here, CARD's Rule 5(a) motion, filed ten days after entry of the district court's order, provided clear notice to both the court and the Board that CARD intended to appeal the order. Accordingly, we construe this motion as a Rule 4(a) notice of appeal which we find to have been timely filed. 5 13