Court Opinion

ID: 9947070
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-01 22:09:37.112781+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:25:46.375985
License: Public Domain

03/01/2024
                  IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
                              AT NASHVILLE
                                        February 29, 2024

  THOMAS KAMINSKI v. TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

                  Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County
                    No. 23-0087-III   I’Ashea L. Myles, Chancellor
                        ___________________________________

                              No. M2024-00291-COA-R3-CV
                          ___________________________________

       This is an appeal from a final order affirming the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation’s denial of a request for termination of registration on the Sex Offender
Registry. Because the appellant did not file his notice of appeal with the clerk of the
appellate court within thirty days after entry of the final judgment as required by Tennessee
Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a), we dismiss the appeal.

                 Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Appeal Dismissed

FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR., P.J., M.S., ANDY D. BENNETT, and JEFFREY USMAN, JJ.

Thomas Kaminski, Millport, New York, Pro Se.

Elizabeth Helen Evan, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation.

                                 MEMORANDUM OPINION1

       This appeal arises out of a petition filed by Thomas Kaminski seeking review of a
decision of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”) to deny his request for
termination of his registration on the Sex Offender Registry. The petition also included
“original action claims” that were not before the TBI. On November 14, 2023, the trial

        1
         A case designated as a memorandum opinion “shall not be published, and shall not be cited or
relied on for any reason in any unrelated case.” Tenn. Ct. App. R. 10.
court entered a Final Order and Memorandum affirming the TBI’s decision and dismissing,
without prejudice, the original action claims.

        The appellant first attempted to appeal the trial court’s final order by filing a notice
of appeal with the trial court clerk. The trial court clerk returned the notice of appeal and
notified the appellant that the notice of appeal must be filed with the Appellate Court Clerk.
The appellant asserts he then mailed a notice of appeal to the Appellate Court Clerk the
next day, but that he “apparently” sent it to the wrong address. The Appellate Court Clerk
finally received a notice of appeal on February 20, 2024. The envelope indicates the notice
was sent by certified mail on February 14, 2024, and the notice will be treated as filed as
of that date under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 20(a).

       Rule 4(a) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure requires that a notice of
appeal be filed with the Appellate Court Clerk within thirty days after entry of the judgment
appealed. Mr. Kaminski did not file his notice of appeal with the Appellate Court Clerk
until ninety-two days after entry of the judgment appealed. We recognize that Mr.
Kaminski first attempted to file his notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial court.
However, under Rule 4(a), the notice of appeal must be filed with the clerk of the appellate
court. A notice of appeal filed with the trial court clerk is a nullity and does not initiate an
appeal as of right or extend the time for filing a notice of appeal in this Court.2 Likewise,
Mr. Kaminski’s assertion that he attempted to file a notice of appeal earlier but mailed it to
the wrong address does not save his appeal. Mr. Kaminski presents no proof that he
attempted a timely mailing. In any event, mailing a notice of appeal to the wrong address
does not constitute a timely filing under Rule 20(a).

       The thirty-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal is mandatory and
jurisdictional. Albert v. Frye, 145 S.W.3d 526, 528 (Tenn. 2004); Binkley v. Medling, 117
S.W.3d 252, 255 (Tenn. 2003). This Court can neither waive nor extend the time period.
Tenn. R. App. P. 2 and 21(b); Flautt & Mann v. Council of City of Memphis, 285 S.W.3d
856, 868 at n.1 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008); Jefferson v. Pneumo Servs. Corp., 699 S.W.2d 181,
184 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1985). The failure to file a timely notice of appeal with the Appellate
Court Clerk deprives this Court of jurisdiction to hear the matter. Flautt & Mann v. Council
of City of Memphis, 285 S.W.3d at 869 at n.1.

      The appeal is dismissed for failure to file a timely notice of appeal. The case is
remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Thomas
Kaminski is taxed with the costs for which execution may issue.

                                                                   PER CURIAM

       2
          While the 2017 amendment to Rule 4(a) included a one-year transitional provision
providing additional time to parties who mistakenly filed a notice of appeal with the trial court
clerk, that transitional provision expired in 2018.
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