Blank v. Michigan Department of Corrections Bureau of Healthcare Services et al

Filing 47

ORDER denying 46 Motion to reopen time to file appeal. Signed by District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds. (CBet)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

ARTHUR BLANK,
Case No. 14-13235
Plaintiff,
Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds
v.
CORIZON HEALTHCARE OF MICHIGAN,
KEITH PAPENDICK, TERRENCE
WHITEMAN, and CHARLES JAMSEN,
Defendants.
/
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REOPEN TIME TO FILE APPEAL [46]
This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion to reopen the time to file an
appeal. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.
On March 22, 2016, the Court accepted and adopted a report and recommendation
granting Defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing the case. Copies were
mailed to Plaintiff and were not returned as undeliverable. In April, after receiving notice
that his subsequent motion for leave to amend his objections had been denied as moot
because the case had already been dismissed, Plaintiff wrote a letter to the Court stating
that he had not received the March 22 order and judgment. Additional courtesy copies were
mailed to Plaintiff, which he admits he received on May 26, 2016. (Dkt. 46, at 2.) On July
26, 2016, Plaintiff mailed the present motion requesting that the Court reopen the time to
file an appeal pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(6).1

1

The motion was received by the Clerk’s office and filed on August 4.

After the entry of final judgment, a party generally has 30 days to file a notice of
appeal. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A); 28 U.S.C. § 2107(a). Under Rule 4(a)(6), however, a
district court may reopen the time to file an appeal for a period of 14 days if certain
conditions are satisfied.2 Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). Relevant here, the motion to reopen the
time to file an appeal must be filed within 180 days after the judgment or order is entered
or within 14 days after the moving party receives notice of the entry, whichever is earlier.
Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6) (emphasis added). Here, the earlier of these two events would be
14 days after Plaintiff received notice of the entry of the March 22 order. Plaintiff received
notice of the order granting summary judgment and judgment order dismissing the case by
May 26, 2016 (at the latest). Plaintiff filed this motion two months later. Because the
present motion was filed more than 14 days after Plaintiff received notice, the motion is
untimely and the Court is without jurisdiction to reopen the time to file appeal. Accordingly,
the motion is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
s/Nancy G. Edmunds
Nancy G. Edmunds
United States District Judge
Dated: August 10, 2016
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record
on August 10, 2016, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
S/Carol J. Bethel
Case Manager

2

Rule 4(a)(6) carries 28 U.S.C. § 2107 into practice; because the time limits in the rule
are codified by statute, they are “mandatory and jurisdictional.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S.
205, 208-13 (2007).
2