Opinion ID: 764674
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The underlying appeal

Text: 6 A party wishing to appeal as of right from a decision in a civil case in which neither the United States nor one of its officers or agents is a party must file a notice of appeal within thirty days of the entry of judgment. Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(1). 1 Cody contends that the present appeal is from the district court's amended judgment, not its original one. It might seem, therefore, that the thirty days should be counted from August 20 rather than from June 12. If that were so, the present appeal would be timely, because the September 8 date of appeal is within thirty days of August 20. 7 This court has held, however, that when a second judgment in a case does not differ from the first judgment in matters affecting the substantive rights of the parties, the time to appeal runs from the first judgment. See Farkas v. Rumore, 101 F.3d 20, 22 (2d Cir.1996) (per curiam). In the instant case, the two judgments are identical with respect to all questions of substantive rights. Accordingly, the August 20 judgment did not start a new period of time for the filing of appeals. The thirty days began on June 12. 2 8 Cody next argues that Judge Brieant, acting pursuant to Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(5), enlarged Cody's time for filing an appeal. That rule permits a district court to modify the thirty day requirement upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause. See id. The record contains no document styled a Rule 4(a)(5) motion or any ruling of the district court on such a motion. Cody submits, however, that its August 7, 1998 letter to the court should be construed as a Rule 4(a)(5) motion and implies that Judge Brieant's effort to give Cody more time in which to appeal can be understood as a 4(a)(5) extension. Our consideration of this issue assumes, but does not decide, that a 4(a)(5) motion was made and granted. 9 It is not clear, in the instant case, that Cody showed excusable neglect or good cause as required by the rule. See id. But we need not reach that issue. Rule 4(a)(5) explicitly provides that no extension granted thereunder may permit the filing of an appeal more than thirty days after the expiration of the initial filing period or ten days after the date on which the extension is ordered, whichever is later. See id.; see also Endicott Johnson Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 116 F.3d 53, 56 (2d Cir.1997) ([T]he district court may ... extend the 30-day appeal period for up to 30 days from the original deadline or until 10 days after the date of entry of the order granting the motion, whichever is later, but may not extend it further.). Cody's appeal was filed after the later of the two applicable dates. Thirty days after the end of the initial thirty day period, meaning sixty days after entry of the first judgment, would have been August 11, 1998. Ten days from the entry of the district court's second judgment--the order that Cody asks us to interpret as, among other things, a 4(a)(5) ruling--elapsed on August 30. The present appeal was not filed until September 8, 1998, nine days after the last possible date that a 4(a)(5) theory could permit. Cody's argument that we have jurisdiction as a result of an extension granted under Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(5) is therefore unavailing. 10 Cody did file a motion for relief from judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b), and, under certain circumstances, the filing of such a motion can increase the time allowed for filing appeals. Specifically, if a motion under Rule 60 is filed within ten days of the entry of judgment, the thirty day period is tolled until the Rule 60 question is adjudicated. Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(4)(F). But if such a motion is filed more than ten days from the date of judgment, the clock does not stop. See Branum v. Clark, 927 F.2d 698, 704 (2d Cir.1991). Cody did not move for 60(b) relief until July 13, 1998, well after ten days had passed from June 12. Accordingly, Cody cannot take advantage of this tolling mechanism. 11 We conclude that any appeal from the dismissal of the complaint in the instant case was required to be filed within thirty days of June 12, 1998. Cody failed to appeal during the time allotted. The thirty day time limit for filing appeals is mandatory and jurisdictional. Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 486 U.S. 196, 203, 108 S.Ct. 1717, 100 L.Ed.2d 178 (1988). Even if the district court were correct that the substantive issues in this case are important, that fact could not create jurisdiction in this court where there was none otherwise: there is--perhaps unfortunately, but nevertheless inexorably--no such thing as interesting question jurisdiction. See Michael v. INS, 48 F.3d 657, 674 (2d Cir.1995) (Jacobs, J., dissenting). Therefore, we have no power to review so much of the judgment of the district court as dismissed the plaintiff's complaint. 12