Lloyd v. Lawrence

60 F.R.D. 116, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 925, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13056
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJune 22, 1973
DocketCiv. A. No. 71-H-657
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 60 F.R.D. 116 (Lloyd v. Lawrence) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lloyd v. Lawrence, 60 F.R.D. 116, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 925, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13056 (S.D. Tex. 1973).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NOEL, District Judge.

On January 18, 1973, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 472 F.2d 313, reversed this Court’s summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs and remanded the case for further proceedings. Since that date, the parties have presented twenty-eight (28) writings to the Clerk of this Court for filing. A simple suit to collect on promissory notes has become encrusted beyond recognition with Motions, Oppositions to Motions, Supplemental Motions, and Supplemental Oppositions.

On February 1, plaintiffs tendered a Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint together with an Order and an Amended Complaint to the Clerk for filing. At that time the twenty-one (21) day period subsequent to judgment during which the Court of Appeals retained jurisdiction of the case had not expired. Fed.R.App.P. 41. The mandate to this Court, consisting of a Memorandum Opinion and Judgment, was issued by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals on February 6 and received by the District Clerk at Houston, Texas, on February 7. Under these facts, the question is raised as to this Court’s jurisdiction of this cause prior to February 6, 1972.

With few exceptions, the federal jurisprudence strictly adheres to the concept of jurisdiction based on [118]*118location.1 A case is lodged in only one court at any one time.2 When an appeal is taken from a decision of the district court, the jurisdiction of the district court terminates. That of the court of appeals attaches upon the filing of an adequate notice of appeal. Fed.R.App.P. 4(a); Gill v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 306 F.2d 902 (5th Cir. 1962). Thereafter, the district court has no jurisdiction and accordingly no control or power over the litigants or the case except to aid the appeal or correct clerical errors. Fed.R.App.P. 7, 8, 10 and 11; Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(a); Walleck v. Hudspeth, 128 F.2d 343 (10th Cir. 1942); 9 Moore’s Federal Practice and Procedure § 203.11.

The jurisdiction of the court of appeals does not terminate upon the issuance of an opinion by that court. Jurisdiction remains in that court for an additional twenty-one (21) days. Fed.R. App.P. 41. Only after the expiration of this period and by the issuance of the mandate does the jurisdiction over the case move from the court of appeals back to the district court.

During the interim between the filing of the notice of appeal and the issuance of the mandate, the district court is powerless to take any action in a case except for the limited purposes of aiding the appeal or correcting errors. Sykes v. United States, 392 F.2d 735 (8th Cir. 1968); Walker v. Felmont Oil Corp., 262 F.2d 163 (6th Cir. 1958). Any other action taken by the district court during such interim is null, void and of no force or effect for any purpose. Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corp. v. City of Seattle, 281 F.2d 896 (9th Cir. 1960); Grand Opera Co. v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 235 F.2d 303 (7th Cir. 1956). This Court construes the “any action” proscribed by these principles to include the action involved in filing writings in the district court which do not aid the appeal or seek correction of clerical mistakes.

“A clerk of a district court of the United States is the court’s administrative officer.” United States v. Monjar, 154 F.2d 954 (3rd Cir. 1946). Title 28, U.S.C. § 956 provides, “The clerk of each court and his deputies and assistants shall exercise the powers and perform the duties assigned to them by the court.” Obviously, the Clerk may not take action which the Court itself may not take. If the Court has no power over a case during a given period, neither does the Clerk. It follows that during any period in which the Court has no jurisdiction of a case, and particularly while it is on appeal, the Clerk may not file any writing other than one the purpose of which would be to aid the appeal or correct errors. To do so suggests that the Court could or would act upon the writing in a case not pending before it and over which it has no jurisdiction.

The authorities are uniform in holding that in a given case, the district court may not allow the filing of amended or supplemental pleadings prior to the issuance of the mandate by a court of appeals. Thompson v. Harry C. Erb, Inc., 240 F.2d 452 (3rd Cir. 1957); Brasier v. United States, 229 F.2d 176 (10th Cir. 1955).

Seven (7) writings, including Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint, were brought to the Clerk’s Office before the mandate [119]*119was issued by the Court of Appeals on February 6, 1973. The writings were not intended to aid in the appeal or for the correction of errors. They were intended to cause action by this Court which it was not authorized to take. Therefore, the Court deems the Clerk’s actions in accepting these writings to have been null, void and of no force or effect. See Sykes v. United States, supra. Such writings may not be considered by this Court for any purpose.

Although the Clerk had no authority to receive and file the writings, plaintiffs’ counsel must in the first instance bear responsibility for the consequences. Though an able and experienced attorney, in his eagerness to further his clients’ interests, he ignored the above basic principles and rules of federal jurisdiction. The reasons for his action are obvious.

The first paper brought to the Clerk’s Office subsequent to publication of the Court of Appeals opinion and purportedly filed on January 26, 1973, was an Application for Writ of Garnishment to be issued against National Surety Corporation as garnishee. National Surety Corporation had provided the supersedeas bond for defendant’s appeal. Fed.R. App.P. 8. As security for the bond, National Surety held a certificate of deposit beneficially owned by defendant. Under the terms of the bond, all obligations secured thereby were voided by the decision of the Court of Appeals. Therefore, the bond would expire upon receipt of the mandate by the Clerk of this Court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 F.R.D. 116, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 925, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lloyd-v-lawrence-txsd-1973.