Opinion ID: 2460905
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Erosion of the Unique Circumstances Doctrine

Text: The erosion began when Stauber, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals case that both the Schroeder and the Johnson courts cited as support for applying the unique circumstances doctrine, was explicitly overruled by Weitz v. Lovelace Health System, Inc., 214 F.3d 1175, 1179-80 (10th Cir.2000). In that case, like this one, the appellant asked for an extension of time to file a motion pursuant to Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, like K.S.A. 60-206, did not allow for this extension and, as a result, the appeal was late. In deciding if the unique circumstances doctrine could save the appeal, the Tenth Circuit overruled Stauber and held the doctrine was limited to situations where it was reasonable for the appellant to rely on the action taken by the federal district court. Weitz, 214 F.3d at 1178-80. Applying that holding to the facts, the Tenth Circuit concluded: In the present case, the rules expressly forbid any extensions for Rule 59(e) motions, and even a passing reference to the rules will reveal this fact. Consequently, the mere fact that a court has granted such an extension does not justify reliance that is clearly at odds with the text of the rules. Weitz, 214 F.3d at 1180. In this case, the Court of Appeals reached the same conclusion, determining that Park City could not reasonably rely on the district court's action when the statute explicitly prohibited the extension. Board of Sedgwick County Commr's, 41 Kan.App.2d at 654, 204 P.3d 648; cf. State ex rel. Murray v. Palmgren, 231 Kan. 524, 536, 646 P.2d 1091 (1982) (`Ignorance of the law is no excuse.'); Flott v. Wenger Mixer Manufacturing Co., 189 Kan. 80, 88, 367 P.2d 44 (1961) (stating that parties in litigation are presumed to know the law); Miller v. Murdock, 788 P.2d 614, 616 n. 2 (Wyo.1990) (It is difficult to understand how a party may reasonably rely on a court's error in applying rules [of civil procedure] counsel is charged with knowing.... [I]gnorance of the rules is neither reasonable nor excusable....). Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals also noted that the Tenth Circuit's narrowing of the doctrine was not the only erosion that occurred. Notably, Harris Truck Lines, the other case cited by the Kansas cases in Schroeder and Johnson as support for applying the unique circumstances doctrine, was (along with Thompson ) overruled by the United States Supreme Court in Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 127 S.Ct. 2360, 168 L.Ed.2d 96 (2007). In Bowles, a federal district judge incorrectly told Bowles that he had more time to file his notice of appeal than the applicable statute allowed. After Bowles filed an untimely notice of appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Bowles' appeal, and the Supreme Court affirmed this decision. The Supreme Court reasoned that because the legislature, within constitutional bounds, limited the jurisdiction of appellate courts to hear only cases brought within the prescribed statutory period, appellate courts were not free to create equitable exceptions to jurisdictional requirements in order to exercise jurisdiction over untimely appeals. Bowles, 551 U.S. at 214, 127 S.Ct. 2360. As a result, the Court concluded that the unique circumstances doctrine is no longer valid and stated: [G]iven that this Court has applied Harris Truck Lines only once in the last half century, [citation omitted,] several courts have rightly questioned its continuing validity. [Citations omitted.] We see no compelling reason to resurrect the doctrine from its 40-year slumber. Bowles, 551 U.S. at 214, 127 S.Ct. 2360. The Court then overruled Harris Truck Lines and Thompson to the extent they purport to authorize an exception to a jurisdictional rule. Bowles, 551 U.S. at 214, 127 S.Ct. 2360.