Opinion ID: 1623785
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: on petition for re-hearing

Text: This matter is before the Court on Fannie Mae Duncan's Petition for Re-hearing asking that this Court reconsider its ruling of April 18, 1990, dismissing as untimely her attempted appeal. Once again our fidelity to the rules governing perfection of an appeal is being tested, and once again, we enforce these simple rules as written. Duncan's Petition for Re-hearing must be denied. Briefly, on September 15, 1989, the Circuit Court of Jackson County entered a final judgment dismissing Duncan's medical malpractice action. Duncan gave Notice of Appeal which was stamped filed on November 7, 1989, more than fifty-three (53) days after entry of final judgment. Duncan asserts, however, that the Notice of Appeal was sent by overnight delivery to the clerk of the lower court on October 26, 1989, and should have been received by that clerk on October 27, 1989. Little turns on this fact, if true, since October 27, 1989, too, was more than thirty (30) days after entry of final judgment. Appellees Romain, et al. moved this Court to docket and dismiss Duncan's appeal on grounds her since Notice of Appeal was not timely filed. Given the unequivocal rule of law which requires that the notice of appeal, to vest this Court with jurisdiction, must be timely filed, a panel of this Court granted the motion and dismissed the appeal. See Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 2(a)(1), 3(a), 4(a); Tandy Electronics, Inc. v. Fletcher, 554 So.2d 308, 310 (Miss. 1989); Moore v. Wax, 554 So.2d 312, 313 (Miss. 1989); see also Telford v. Aloway, 530 So.2d 179, 180-81 (Miss. 1988); Sweet v. Luster, 492 So.2d 983, 984 (Miss. 1986); Landrum v. Bailey, 475 So.2d 140, 141 (Miss. 1985); Clark v. City of Pascagoula, 473 So.2d 477, 478 (Miss. 1985). Duncan asks re-hearing and, as before, asks that we carve out an exception to the hard steadfast rule set forth above. The circumstances urged upon us as justifying such an exception are that Duncan's counsel is a member of the Louisiana bar appearing in this case pro hac vice, without association of local counsel. In preparing for appeal, he mistakenly relied on Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-5 (1990 Supp.) which sets the time period for appeal at forty-five (45) days. Counsel for Duncan would have this Court hold that an out of state lawyer who, in good faith, relies on Section 11-51-5 of the Miss. Code Ann. 1972 would be allowed to proceed with an appeal where Notice of Appeal was filed within the stated 45 day period. This is an invitation we respectfully decline. Since January 1, 1984, the time period for filing notice of appeal to this Court has been thirty (30) days. See Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 48 (effective January 1, 1984), announced in Moran v. Necaise, 437 So.2d 1222, 1225 (Miss. 1983), and Rule 4(a) (effective January 1, 1988). We doubt this fact would have gone unnoticed had local counsel been associated in this matter as required. See Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 46(b)(3), which provides: No foreign attorney may appear pro hac vice before this Court or any court or administrative agency of this state unless the foreign attorney has associated in that cause an attorney who is a member in good standing of the Mississippi State Bar (hereinafter called local counsel). Moreover, counsel's application to the lower court for admission pro hac vice belies his present plea for an exception to our well-worn rule. Therein he averred [t]hat he is familiar with the rules of the court and will abide by all rules of the court and all orders of the court. Unhappy as this result may be, the imperatives of principled consistency in the administration of justice command that we enforce the rule as written, and, as we have done in Tandy and Wax, deny Duncan's Petition for Re-hearing and order Duncan's appeal finally dismissed. PETITION FOR RE-HEARING DENIED. ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., and PRATHER, SULLIVAN and ANDERSON, JJ., concur. HAWKINS, P.J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by PITTMAN, J. DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by BLASS, J. PITTMAN, J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by Dan M. LEE, P.J., and BLASS, J.