Background
The appellant, Brittany M. Tomlinson, filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The district court accepted a magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismissed the action for lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction. The judgment was entered on March fourteen, 2025. Tomlinson subsequently filed a notice of appeal on August twenty-two, 2025, and also filed motions for monetary damages, to supplement the record, and to remand for a limited purpose.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that the timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure four, subsection a, one, subsection A, parties have thirty days after the entry of the district court’s final judgment to note an appeal. The court noted that the appeal period expired on April fourteen, 2025, making the August twenty-two, 2025 filing untimely. Additionally, the court found the appeal duplicative of a prior appeal, Tomlinson v. Wal-Mart Assocs., Inc., No. 25-1268, which had already affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
"[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement."
Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007)
What it means going forward
The dismissal of the appeal means the district court’s order dismissing the underlying civil action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction remains in effect. The appellant’s pending motions for monetary damages, to supplement the record, and to remand were also denied.
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