Joseph Eve & Co. v. Allen

945 P.2d 897, 284 Mont. 511, 54 State Rptr. 987, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 200
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 22, 1997
Docket97-405
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 945 P.2d 897 (Joseph Eve & Co. v. Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Joseph Eve & Co. v. Allen, 945 P.2d 897, 284 Mont. 511, 54 State Rptr. 987, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 200 (Mo. 1997).

Opinions

OPINION AND ORDER

Background

Joseph Eve & Co. (Eve) filed a Notice of Appeal with the District Court for the Thirteenth Judicial District, Yellowstone County, on [512]*512June 23, 1997, following that court’s March 7, 1997 Judgment. Eve filed an Amended Notice of Appeal on June 27,1997. On July 23,1997, Catherine B. Allen (Allen) filed a motion to dismiss the appeal claiming that the District Court’s judgment was not final. This Court denied Allen’s motion to dismiss on August 12,1997. Two days later, on August 14, 1997, Allen filed her Motion for Leave to File Cross Appeal with this Court. Eve filed its memorandum in opposition to respondent’s motion on August 26, 1997.

The issue before this Court is one of first impression. We are called upon to answer the question of whether the timely filing of a notice of cross appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to this Court’s consideration of the cross appeal or whether the time for filing a notice of a cross appeal is a procedural requirement that may be discretionarily waived. We hold that the time limit for the filing of a cross appeal is jurisdictional and that on the facts of this case we are precluded from considering Allen’s cross appeal.

Discussion

Under Rule 5(a)(3), M.R.App.R, a cross appeal may be filed within 14 days after the date on which the first notice of appeal was filed. In this case, Allen failed to file a cross appeal within that time and she now requests leave of this Court to file her cross appeal even though 52 days elapsed from the time the first notice of appeal was filed until the time she filed her motion.

Allen relies on two circuit courts of appeal decisions for her contention that while a timely notice of appeal is mandatory and jurisdictional, a cross appeal is a matter of practice or procedure and is not a jurisdictional prerequisite once an initial appeal has been filed. Texport Oil Co. v. M/V Amolyntos (2d. Cir. 1993), 11 F.3d 361, 366; Bryant v. Technical Research Co. (9th Cir. 1981), 654 F.2d 1337, 1341. Allen asserts that, based on these decisions, this Court has discretion to disregard the time requirement.

While the two decisions Allen cites hold that cross appeals are not jurisdictional, the remainder of the circuit courts of appeal differ on this issue. The federal rule regarding the filing of a cross appeal provides: “If one party timely files a notice of appeal, any other party may file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the date when the first notice was filed, or within the time otherwise prescribed by this Rule 4(a), whichever period last expires.” Rule 4(a)(3), Fed.R.App.R Some circuits follow the view expressed in Texport and Bryant that this rule is a rule of practice which may be waived in the interest of [513]*513justice or under appropriate circumstances. United States v. Tabor Court Realty Corp. (3rd Cir. 1991), 943 F.2d 335; LaFaut v. Smith (4th Cir. 1987), 834 F.2d 389; Anthony v. Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (5th Cir. 1982), 693 F.2d 495. Other circuits adhere to the view that the time limits for filing a cross appeal are mandatory and jurisdictional. Akron Center for Reproductive Health v. Slaby (6th Cir. 1988), 854 F.2d 852, rev’d on other grounds sub nom Ohio v. Akron Ctr. for Reproductive Health (1990), 497 U.S. 502, 110 S.Ct. 2972, 111 L.Ed.2d 405; Young Radiator Co. v. Celotex Corp. (7th Cir. 1989), 881 F.2d 1408; Savage v. Cache Valley Dairy Ass’n (10th Cir. 1984), 737 F.2d 887.

In Young, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the time limits for filing a cross appeal are mandatory and jurisdictional. Young, 881 F.2d at 1416. The court in Young pointed out that the rationale behind the contrary view that the filing of a cross appeal is merely a matter of practice or procedure, is based on the notion that the initial notice of appeal invokes jurisdiction over the entire case so that the. appellate court has the power to overlook the absence of a notice of cross appeal. Young, 881 F.2d at 1415. In refuting this idea, the court in Young cited to a United States Supreme Court decision, Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co. (1988), 487 U.S. 312,108 S.Ct. 2405, 101 L.Ed.2d 285, that addressed a related issue, the interpretation of Rule 3(c), Fed.R.App.P., regarding the failure to specify all parties taking an appeal. The Supreme Court held in Torres that “the requirements of Rules 3 and 4 are mandatory and jurisdictional and that although the courts of appeals may liberally construe those rules to determine whether they have been complied with, the courts may not waive noncompliance.” Young, 881 F.2d 1416.

In addition, Bryant and Texport, the cases cited by Allen to support her contention, are limited in their holdings. The court in Bryant emphasized the narrow scope of its holding and stated that “[i]t will be the unusual case where an appellee that fails to file a notice of appeal can challenge unfavorable aspects of a judgment.” Bryant, 654 F.2d at 1343. The court in Texport pointed out that the filing of the cross appeal was late by only one business day and that the direct appeal and the cross appeal were “closely interrelated.” Texport, 11 F.3d at 366.

Certain state jurisdictions also adhere to the idea that the timely filing of a cross appeal is jurisdictional. Mahaffey v. Investor’s Nat. Sec. Co. (Nev. 1986), 725 P.2d 1218; Johnson v. State (Kan. 1986), 727 P.2d 912, overruled in part by Denton v. Sunflower Elec. Co-op., Inc. (Kan. 1988), 748 P.2d 420; Rossmiller v. Rossmiller (Wis. Ct. App. [514]*5141989), 444 N.W.2d 445; McCracken v. Edward D. Jones & Co. (Iowa Ct. App. 1989), 445 N.W.2d 375.

In Montana, this Court has long held that the time limits for filing an appeal are mandatory and jurisdictional. “An appellant has a duty to perfect its appeal in the manner and time provided in Rule 5. Absent this compliance, this Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the appeal.” Foster Apiaries, Inc. v. Hubbard Apiaries (1981), 193 Mont. 156, 159, 630 P.2d 1213, 1215 (citing Price v. Zunchich (1980), 188 Mont. 230, 612 P.2d 1296).

In a similar fashion, this Court has held that the failure to properly file a cross appeal precludes this Court from addressing the issues raised in the cross appeal. For example, we said in Johnson v. Tindall (1981), 195 Mont. 165, 635 P.2d 266, that:

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Joseph Eve & Co. v. Allen
945 P.2d 897 (Montana Supreme Court, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
945 P.2d 897, 284 Mont. 511, 54 State Rptr. 987, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/joseph-eve-co-v-allen-mont-1997.