Kraft, Inc. v. The United States, Defendant/cross-Appellant

85 F.3d 602, 34 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1308, 77 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2372, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 13332, 1996 WL 295066
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJune 5, 1996
Docket94-5163, 95-5007
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 85 F.3d 602 (Kraft, Inc. v. The United States, Defendant/cross-Appellant) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Kraft, Inc. v. The United States, Defendant/cross-Appellant, 85 F.3d 602, 34 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1308, 77 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2372, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 13332, 1996 WL 295066 (Fed. Cir. 1996).

Opinion

NIES, Senior Circuit Judge.

This case raises a jurisdictional question respecting the timeliness of the appeals. Kraft, Inc., seeks to appeal and the government to cross-appeal the merits of a judgment of the United States Court of Federal Claims which granted part of Kraft’s tax refund claims for the years 1972 and 1976 and denied any refund for claims made for the five other years in suit. We conclude that Kraft’s motion for reconsideration filed April 8, 1994, did not toll the 60-day period in which to appeal a corrected judgment entered on March 31, 1994. Thus, Kraft’s appeal, filed September 26,1994, is untimely, and the government’s cross-appeal filed thereafter is also untimely. Both appeals are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

I.

Background

Kraft brought suit against the government seeking a tax refund for each of the years 1972 through 1978, based, inter alia, on asserted abandonment loss deductions for dairy-related intangible assets. 1 On January 28, 1994, the trial court issued its decision granting in part Kraft’s abandonment loss deductions claims for 1972 and 1976 and denying all other relief. The trial court entered judgment on January 31, 1994, awarding Kraft $4,291,281 for the years 1972 and 1976 and dismissing its claims for 1973,1974, 1975, 1977, and 1978 (the “January judgment”). On February 7, 1994, the government filed a motion asking the court to reconsider, withdraw, and modify its opinion to correct certain mathematical errors in the amount of the awards. The government argued that the January judgment reflected two “noncontroversial,” “clerical,” and “mechanical” errors in the court’s calculations. Kraft, in its response to the government’s motion, conceded that the trial court made the two asserted errors and joined with the government in filing a stipulation specifying the correct amounts for the allowed claims. 2

On March 30,1994, the trial court accepted the parties’ stipulation. To complete the correction, the court vacated the January judgment and directed the clerk to enter a revised judgment for the lesser amounts. On March 31,1994, the clerk entered the court’s order and also entered a corrected judgment (the “March judgment”). No other change was made in the January judgment or opinion. On April 8,1994, Kraft served a motion for reconsideration and amendment of the March judgment, seeking reversal of the court’s denial of its claims for abandonment loss deductions in 1977 and for additional deductions in 1972 and 1976. On August 1, 1994, the trial court issued an order denying Kraft’s motion. Kraft filed a notice of appeal on September 26,1994. In this appeal, Kraft *604 seeks a reversal of the denial of all of its asserted losses in 1972, 1976, and 1977 and a remand for reconsideration of its asserted losses in other years, principally because of the alleged imposition of an improper burden of proof. The government filed a notice of cross-appeal on October 7, 1994, seeking to overturn the refunds which were granted. Neither challenges the changed amount of the award set out in the March judgment. At oral argument, this court, sua sponte, raised the question of whether Kraft’s motion of April 8,1994, for reconsideration tolled the appeal period. The court cited the cases of Moody v. Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co., 915 F.2d 201 (6th Cir.1990), and Dixie Sand and Gravel Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 631 F.2d 73 (5th Cir.1980), as representative of cases where a motion to reconsider a revised judgment did not toll the running of the time for appeal. Supplemental briefs on this issue were submitted, both of which argue in favor of this court’s jurisdiction.

II.

Timeliness Under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP)

The time for appeal is “mandatory and jurisdictional.” Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 486 U.S. 196, 203,108 S.Ct. 1717, 1722, 100 L.Ed.2d 178 (1988) . Accord Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312, 315, 108 S.Ct. 2405, 2407-08, 101 L.Ed.2d 285 (1988); Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co., 459 U.S. 56, 61, 103 S.Ct. 400, 403, 74 L.Ed.2d 225 (1982); Maxus Energy Corp. v. United States, 31 F.3d 1135, 1139 n. 9 (Fed.Cir.1994). The parties, of course, cannot confer jurisdiction on an appellate court by their agreement or consent. Marcangelo v. Boardwalk Regency, 47 F.3d 88, 91 (3rd Cir.1995). Thus, the issue of jurisdiction must be addressed. Dixie Sand, 631 F.2d at 74 (court must question timeliness of the appeal sua sponte).

Under FRAP Rule 4(a)(1) 3 and 28 U.S.C. § 2107 (1988), the time for appeal from the judgment in an action in which the United States is a party is 60 days calculated from the date of entry of the final judgment. 4 FRAP 4(a)(4) provides for a tolling and restarting of the time for appeal where a party makes certain motions, including either a timely Rule 59 motion to alter or amend a judgment or a Rule 60 motion for a correction filed within ten days of the judgment. 5 Maxus, 31 F.3d at 1139. The Rules of the Court of Federal Claims (RCFC) similarly *605 provide that a motion to alter or amend the judgment under its Rule 59(d), which is comparable to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e), “shall be filed not later than 10 days after entry of the judgment.” The rules specifically provide that this ten-day period in which to file a time-tolling motion may not be extended. Fed.R.Civ.P. 6/RCFC 6; 6 Parker v. Board of Public Utilities of Kansas City, Kansas, 77 F.3d 1289 (10th Cir.1996) (Rule 59 motion filed 13 days after entry of judgment did not toll time for appeal even though within 10 days of notice of judgment.);

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85 F.3d 602, 34 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1308, 77 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2372, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 13332, 1996 WL 295066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kraft-inc-v-the-united-states-defendantcross-appellant-cafc-1996.