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Recent Fifth Circuit opinion dismisses appeal as untimely based on CMECF Notice of Electronic Filing date and time stamp

Release Date: 
Tuesday, July 26, 2016

On July 18, 2016, in a case originating from the Texas Western District, Sudduth v. Texas Health and Human Services Commission,___ F.3d ___, 2016 WL 3900647 (5th Cir. July 18, 2016), the Fifth Circuit held that a notice of appeal filed through the district court's CM/ECF system was untimely because the Notice of Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF reflected that the notice was filed one day beyond the time required for filing a notice of appeal.  The electronic filing procedures in the Texas Western District Court required the parties to file their notices of appeal electronically and also provided that a notice of electronic filing with the time of filing and docketing is automatically generated by the CM/ECF system and that a document is not timely filed on a day unless the filing is completed before midnight.  The ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC CASE FILINGS for the Louisiana Eastern District Court likewise require all pleadings and documents to be filed electronically in CM/ECF and provide that electronic transmission of a document to the Electronic Filing System  together with the transmission of a Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes filing of the document and entry of the document on the docket kept by the Clerk.   The Louisiana Eastern District Court's electronic filing rules also deem a document filed electronically to be filed on the date and at the time stated on the Court's Notice of Electronic Filing and note that the electronic filing of a document does not alter the filing deadline for that document and that filing must be completed before midnight local time where the Court is located in order to be timely filed on that day.