Opinion ID: 691017
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Nguyen

Text: A. Timeliness of Nguyen's Notice of Appeal 18 The government first argues that Nguyen's appeal should be dismissed because his notice of appeal was untimely. When the United States is a party to an action, Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(1) requires a party to file a notice of appeal within sixty days of the entry of the judgment of the district court. Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4)(F), however, stays the time to file a notice of appeal if any party files a motion under, inter alia, Fed.R.Civ.P. 60 within ten days after the entry of the judgment. In the instant case, the district court entered a judgment granting summary judgment in favor of the government on November 8, 1993. This judgment did not recite the amount of the penalties owed by Nguyen. Therefore, on December 6, 1993, the government moved to amend the judgment to reflect the amount of relief sought in the complaint. Because this motion was filed more than ten days after the entry of the November 8, 1993, judgment, the tolling provision of Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4)(F) was not triggered. The district court entered its amended judgment on January 12, 1994, and Nguyen filed his notice of appeal on January 28, 1994. If the November 8, 1993, judgment constitutes the final judgment, Nguyen's notice of appeal is untimely. If the January 12, 1994, judgment is the final judgment, Nguyen's notice of appeal is timely. 19 A judgment is final when it ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. Budinich v. Becton Dickinson and Co., 486 U.S. 196, 199, 108 S.Ct. 1717, 1720, 100 L.Ed.2d 178 (1988) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). This Court has held that a final judgment for money must at least specify the amount awarded so that it may be properly enforced. Zink v. United States, 929 F.2d 1015, 1020 (5th Cir.1991) (holding that two judgments that did not specify the amount of damages were not final judgments in tax refund suit notwithstanding the fact that the amount of damages was readily determinable from the complaint and other pleadings). 10 Because the district court's November 8, 1993, judgment did not specify the amount of the damages, it does not constitute a final judgment. Thus, Nguyen's notice of appeal was timely, and the panel has jurisdiction to hear this appeal. B. Merits of Nguyen's Appeal 20 Nguyen argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the United States because the government failed to file the certified administrative record with the district court. Section 11(a)(1) of the ESA authorizes the Attorney General to institute civil proceedings in the district court to collect penalties assessed at the administrative level and states that [t]he court shall hear such action on the record made before the Secretary and shall sustain his action if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole. 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1540(a)(1) (emphasis added). Because the government never filed a certified copy of the administrative record with the district court, Nguyen argues that the district court could not determine whether the NOAA's decision was supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole. In his opposition to the government's motion for summary judgment filed in the district court, Nguyen raised this same argument. 21 The government concedes that it did not file a certified copy of the administrative record with the district court, but argues that the certified portions of the record that it attached to its complaint as exhibits provide a sufficient basis to sustain NOAA's determination. In support of this argument, the government cites Section 10(e) of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), relating to judicial review of agency action: ... the court shall review the whole record or those parts of it cited by a party.... 5 U.S.C. Sec. 706 (emphasis added). Section 12 of the APA, however, states that none of its provisions limit or repeal additional requirements imposed by statute or otherwise recognized by law. 5 U.S.C. Sec. 559. Thus, while we agree with the government that the APA is generally applicable to ESA, 11 nevertheless the ESA's provision that judicial review be on the record made before the Secretary ... considered as a whole, without anything comparable to the or those parts of it language of section 10(e) of the APA, precludes our reliance on that portion of section 10(e). Accordingly, the district court erred in granting summary judgment for the government without considering the record as a whole. 22 Alternatively, the government argues that any error committed by the district court was harmless. The government asserts that Nguyen has failed to allege that he suffered any harm as a result of the district court's failure to review the record as a whole. Given the substantial portions of the administrative record that the government attached to its complaint as exhibits, this argument is not without some arguable merit. Moreover, the excerpts of the record attached to the government's complaint as exhibits appear generally to bear out the government's account of what transpired at the administrative level. 12 However, crucial parts of the administrative record, such as Nguyen's purported stipulation to the factual basis of the charges, were never filed with the district court. Because the ESA expressly requires judicial review based on the entire administrative record, and because the district court did not have crucial portions of the administrative record before it, we reject the government's harmless error argument. 23 Nguyen asks this Court to dismiss the government's complaint. The government counters that if we decide that the district court erred in granting summary judgment without the complete certified record, the appropriate remedy is to remand the case for the limited purpose of allowing the government to file the administrative record. This request apparently indicates that the administrative record may exist despite earlier statements by the government that it has not been able to locate a complete copy of the administrative record. Accordingly, we reverse and remand in order to provide the government with the opportunity to file a certified copy of the administrative record with the district court, and for that court then to proceed with appropriate review. 13