Civil Procedure -- notice of appeal -- timeliness.

Byline: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Civil

Civil Procedure -- notice of appeal -- timeliness

There is no unique circumstances exception for failure to file a timely notice of appeal.

"Moreover, Satkar hasn't shown that it actually relied on what the district court said. It's undisputed that Satkar knew the court had entered a Rule 54(b) final judgment on September 21, so it cannot claim to have been genuinely confused when the judge misstated the record a week later. When the judge invited a request for a Rule 54(b) finding on September 27-mistakenly, as Satkar admits it knew at the time-Satkar's counsel did nothing to correct the court's misapprehension or otherwise clear up the confusion. The appeal clock was already running, but Satkar let the deadline pass, waiting until after the next status conference to move for an extension of time and blaming its own neglect on confusion supposedly created by the judge."

"That's not excusable neglect; it is instead an attempt to seek refuge in a momentary memory lapse by a busy judge juggling a heavy caseload. Satkar points out that waiting until after the appeal deadline has passed to request an extension is not automatically a bar to appeal. That's true. Rule 4(a)(5) explicitly contemplates a motion for extension of time after the 30- day period has run. And the extension rule is not confined to 'circumstances beyond the control of...