Case No. 16-658 | 7th Cir. Decision
Charmaine Hamer used to work as an intake specialist for the Housing Services of Chicago and Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Help Center. She sued her employers alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of her employers.
Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Hamer had thirty days to file an appeal—until October 14, 2015. On October 8, 2015, Hamer’s attorney filed a motion to extend the deadline until December 14, 2015. The district court granted the motion, and Hamer filed her appeal on December 11, 2015, within the newly extended deadline.
Fannie Mae and the Housing Services of Chicago subsequently argued that Hamer’s appeal was untimely and therefore the appellate court lacked jurisdiction. They argued that the rule in question states “[n]o extension under Rule 4(a)(5) may exceed 30 days after the prescribed time or 14 days after the date when the order granting the motion is entered, whichever is later.” Hamer, however, argued that this rule is in conflict with 28 U.S.C. § 2017(c), which allows the district court to “extend the time for appeal upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause” so long as the motion is filed no later than 30 days after the expiration of the time otherwise set for bringing the appeal.
The Seventh Circuit relied on Rule 4(a)(5) and dismissed Hamer’s appeal as untimely. They indicated that the rule only allowed extensions of thirty days. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address a circuit split: the Second, Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits have held that Rule 4(a)(5)(C) deprives an appellate court of jurisdiction over an appeal that is otherwise timely under a statute. In contrast, the Ninth and D.C. Circuits have held that because Rule 4(a)(5)(C) is not statutorily derived, it is a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule and subject to equitable considerations like forfeiture, waiver, and the unique-circumstances doctrine.