NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
2007-5112
JAMAR JAMES EVANS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES,
Defendant-Appellee.
ON MOTION
Before SCHALL, GAJARSA, and LINN Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
ORDER
The United States moves to dismiss Jamar James Evans’ appeal as untimely.
Evans submits correspondence that we treat as a motion to reopen the time to file an
appeal pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). We consider whether a remand to the
United States Court of Federal Claims is appropriate.
The trial court entered judgment dismissing Evans’ complaint on January 5,
2007. Evans filed his notice of appeal on April 27, 2007, beyond the 60-day time period
provided for by Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B). Thus, Evans’ appeal is untimely. However,
Evans states that he did not receive notice of the January 5 trial court opinion until April
19, 2007.
Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6), the trial court may reopen the time to appeal
in certain circumstances if it finds that a party did not receive notice of entry of
judgment. Evans appears to seek relief pursuant to Rule 4(a)(6). However, such relief
may only be granted by a trial court. Thus, we determine that the better course is to
remand to the Court of Federal Claims for the limited purpose of determining whether
the time to appeal should be reopened pursuant to Rule 4(a)(6).
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The motion to dismiss is held in abeyance.
(2) The case is remanded to the Court of Federal Claims for the limited
purpose of determining whether the time to appeal should be reopened pursuant to Fed.
R. App. P. 4(a)(6).
(3) The briefing schedule is stayed.
(4) The United States is directed to notify the court within 14 days of a ruling
by the Court of Federal Claims concerning Evans’ Rule 4(a)(6) motion. Evans may also
respond within that time.
FOR THE COURT
June 6, 2007 /s/ Jan Horbaly
Date Jan Horbaly
Clerk
cc: Jamar James Evans
Joan Stentiford, Esq.
s17
2007-5112 2