Under Rule 4 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, notice of an appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of the final judgment. A new decision of the Court of Appeals reminds us that one day late is the equivalent of being one year late.
In Auora Loan Services, LLC v. Elam, No. W2023-00905-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2023) (memorandum opinion), appellant filed his notice of appeal one day late. His excuse? When calculating the thirty days within which to file an appeal, he did not take into consideration that May has 31 days. He asked for forgiveness.
Request denied.
The Court explained that the “thirty-day requirement may not be waived. An appellate court cannot extend the time for filing a notice of appeal. ‘In civil cases, the failure to timely file a notice of appeal deprives the appellate court of jurisdiction to hear the appeal.’ In fact, ‘[i]f the notice of appeal is not timely filed, the appellate court is required to dismiss the appeal.'” Id. at 2 (citations omitted).
So, count the days. Twice. And let someone else count them, too.
And one more thing: the Rule 4 says that the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of the final judgment. That means you don’t need to wait until the thirtieth day to file. You can file on Day 29. Or Day 28. Or Day 10.