Deemed Denial and the Deadline to File Notices of Appeal in Civil Cases

• Publication year: 2014
• Citation: Vol. 18 No. 08

Deemed Denial and the Deadline to File Notices of Appeal in Civil Cases

by Rebecca A. Copeland

The January 2014 issue of the Hawaii Bar Journal included an article that explained how and when an extension of the time frame to file a notice of appeal may be obtained.¹ The Hawaii Supreme Court has recently provided an additional extension option, however, in certain cases involving the so-called "deemed denial deadline."² In Ass'n of Condo. Homeowners of Tropics at Waikele v. Sakuma, the Supreme Court held that the thirty-day deadline to file a notice of appeal does not begin to run from the date on which a post-judgment reconsideration motion is deemed denied, but rather from the date on which the trial court enters an order denying the motion for reconsideration—even if that date is after the deemed denial deadline.³

Deemed Denial Deadline in Civil Cases

Under Rule 4(a)(1) of the Hawaii Rules of Appellate Procedure, the notice of appeal in a civil case is due thirty days after the entry of an appealable order or final judgment.⁴ The 30-day deadline may be extended by the filing of certain types of post-judgment motions. According to Rule 4(a)(3):

If any party files a timely motion for judgment as a matter of law, to amend findings or make additional findings, for a new trial, to reconsider, alter or amend the judgment or order, or for attorney's fees or costs, the time for filing the notice of appeal is extended until 30 days after entry of an order disposing of the motion[.]⁵

However, Rule 4(a)(3) also provides that "the failure to dispose of any motion by order entered upon the record within 90 days after the date the motion was filed shall constitute a denial of the motion."⁶ This is known as the deemed denial deadline.⁷ For years, the Intermediate Court of Appeals had interpreted Rule 4(a)(3), and the deemed denial deadline, to mean that a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after the ninety-day deemed denial time-frame ends.⁸

Sakuma and the Hawaii Supreme Court's New Deemed Denial Rule

In Ass'n of Condo. Homeowners of Tropics at Waikele v. Sakuma, the Intermediate Court of Appeals once again held that a notice of appeal was not timely under Rule 4(a)(3), dismissing the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction because the appellant did not file the notice of appeal within thirty days after her motion for reconsideration was deemed denied."⁹ In Sakuma, the circuit court entered judgment on an order confirming the sale of Sakuma's foreclosed property on May 29, 2012.¹⁰ On June 7, 2012, Sakuma filed a timely motion for reconsideration.¹¹ The circuit court did not rule on the motion, so it was deemed denied ninety days later—on September 5, 2012.¹² Sakuma filed a notice of appeal on October 16, 2012.¹³The Intermediate Court of Appeals held that Sakuma had not met the thirty-day deadline to file her appeal within thirty days after the HRAP Rule 4(a)(3) automatically deemed denial of her Rule 59 motion for reconsideration.¹⁴

On certiorari, the Hawaii Supreme Court disagreed. According to the supreme court, the deemed denial deadline did not trigger the running of the deadline to file the notice of appeal because there was no "entry of an order[.]"¹⁵ Specifically, the supreme court held: "The ICA determined that Sakuma's appeal was untimely because she did not file the notice of appeal within thirty days after her motion for reconsideration was deemed denied. However, HRAP Rule 4(a)(1) requires an entry of an order to trigger the thirty-day appeal period in HRAP Rule 4(a)(3)."¹⁶ Thus, [t]he deadline to file Sakuma's appeal was suspended until such entry was made."¹⁷

What Practitioners Should Do?

There are several practical implications of the Hawaii Supreme Court decision on trial and appellate practice. Whether or not a practitioner has encountered the situation raised in Sakuma, it is clear from the case that there are actions that practitioners should take, or considering taking, to preserve the right to appeal.

File the Post-Judgment Motion Timely

The deemed denial deadline will never come into play unless one of the post-judgment motions listed in Rule 4(a)(3) is timely filed.¹⁸ In Sakuma's case, she had filed a timely motion for reconsideration pursuant to Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59.¹⁹ Motions for reconsideration, to alter or amend the judgment, or for new trial under Rule 59 "shall be filed no later than 10 days after entry of the judgment."²⁰ The same...