Opinion ID: 887390
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: issues

Text: ¶ 10 Did the District Court err in concluding Shane's motion for post-trial relief under Rule 59 was untimely? ¶ 11 Rule 59(b) and 59(g), M.R.Civ.P., provide that motions for a new trial or to alter and amend a judgment must be served within ten days after service of the notice of entry of judgment. Concerning the time to file such motions we have held: Rule 6(a), M.R.Civ.P., provides that when a rule calls for less than eleven days, Saturdays and Sundays are not counted. However, we held in DeTienne that Saturdays and Sundays would not be excluded from the initially added three days which are allowed for mailing and that these days would be counted prior to the counting of the prescribed period for serving a motion. Dunkelberger v. Burlington Northern R. Co. (1994), 265 Mont. 243, 247, 876 P.2d 218, 220. ¶ 12 Notice of entry of judgment was entered and mailed on September 26, 2003. From this date Shane had ten days to file his Rule 59, M.R.Civ.P., motion. Pursuant to Rule 6(a), M.R.Civ.P., intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are excluded from the ten day computation. In this instance, Monday, October 13, 2003, was also excluded as under § 1-1-216, MCA, Columbus Day is a legal holiday. Further, because the notice of entry of judgment was mailed, Shane had an additional three days. Rule 6(e), M.R.Civ.P. Calculating the time in accordance with the above mentioned rules and DeTienne Assoc. Ltd. Partnership v. Montana Rail Link, Inc. (1993), 261 Mont. 238, 241-42, 862 P.2d 1106, 1108, Shane's motion for a new trial or to alter or amend the judgment needed to be filed on or before October 14, 2003. Here, Shane filed his Rule 59 motion on October 16, 2003. ¶ 13 Although Shane urges this Court to overrule DeTienne, and conclude that his Rule 59(g) motion was timely, we decline to do so. ¶ 14 Under Rule 5(a)(1), M.R.App.P., notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days from the date of the entry of the judgment or order appealed from. Because Shane's Rule 59, M.R.Civ.P., motion was untimely, it did not toll the time period for Shane to appeal the District Court's decree of September 19, 2003. Rule 5(a)(4), M.R.App.P. The time to file an appeal concerning the matters decided in the September 19, 2003, decree expired and the decree became final, subject only to Shane's motion for relief under the various provisions of Rule 60, M.R.Civ.P. A Rule 60, M.R.Civ.P., motion, however, may not be used as a substitute for appeal. Donovan v. Graff (1991), 248 Mont. 21, 25, 808 P.2d 491, 494; see also Lussy v. Dye (1985), 215 Mont. 91, 93, 695 P.2d 465, 466 (The proper avenue for seeking redress from an allegedly erroneous decision, solely on the basis that it is erroneous, is the appeal process).