COX v. PRIDE ENTERPRISES

Filing 29

ORDER TREATING THE PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR REHEARING/NOTICE OF APPEAL AS A NOTICE OF APPEAL - GRANTED IN PART 28 Plaintiff's MOTION To Correct Illegal Misinterpretation. The plaintiff's "Motion for rehearing/notice of Appeal," ECF No. 26 , is deemed a notice of appeal. The clerk must process the notice of appeal. Signed by JUDGE ROBERT L HINKLE on 1/15/2014. (dlt)

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Page 1 of 2 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TALLAHASSEE DIVISION DENNIS COX, Plaintiff, v. CASE NO. 4:13cv399-RH/CAS PRIDE ENTERPRISES et al., Defendants. _____________________________________/ ORDER TREATING THE PLAINTIFF’S “MOTION FOR REHEARING/NOTICE OF APPEAL” AS A NOTICE OF APPEAL The plaintiff filed on December 20, 2013, a document entitled “Motion for rehearing/notice of Appeal.” The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure make no provision for seeking in a single document both reconsideration by a district court of its own decision and review of that decision by the Court of Appeals. Instead, the rules contemplate an appeal only after the district court has completed its own consideration of an issue. Because the plaintiff apparently sought reconsideration by this court, I considered the plaintiff’s December 20 filing. Because the proper motion for reconsideration by a district court after the entry of judgment is a motion to alter or Case No. 4:13cv399-RH/CAS Page 2 of 2 amend the judgment, I treated the plaintiff’s filing as a motion to alter or amend the judgment. I did this to preserve the plaintiff’s right to appeal—the rules provide that the deadline for filing a notice of appeal runs from the denial of a timely motion to alter or amend, and I did not wish there to be any ambiguity about whether the plaintiff’s filing was sufficient to extend the appeal deadline. As is his pattern, the plaintiff has objected, alleging that I somehow did something wrong by considering the plaintiff’s filing on the merits and preserving his right to appeal. In any event, the plaintiff now insists that he intended for the December 20 filing to be treated as a notice of appeal. He has filed a document entitled, “Motion to correct illegal interpretation.” Giving the plaintiff yet another benefit of the doubt, I now treat the December 20 filing as a timely notice of appeal. For these reasons, IT IS ORDERED: 1. The plaintiff’s “Motion to correct illegal misinterpretation,” ECF No. 28, is GRANTED IN PART. 2. The plaintiff’s “Motion for rehearing/notice of Appeal,” ECF No. 26, is deemed a notice of appeal. The clerk must process the notice of appeal. SO ORDERED on January 15, 2014. s/Robert L. Hinkle United States District Judge Case No. 4:13cv399-RH/CAS

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