A Series of Unfortunate Events

iiiTec v. Weatherford Technology Holdings presents a series of unfortunate events that led to dismissal of an appeal.

1. “iiiTec filed two motions on July 23, 2021, the twenty-eighth day after judgment. The first was a request to exceed the page limit on its proposed Rule 59/60 motion; the second was a short 14-page motion to alter the judgment. A request for leave to file is not one that can toll the deadline to appeal, but a motion to alter is.” (footnote omitted). So far, so good. But then …
2. “[W]hen the court struck iiiTec’s motion to alter on October 4, the deadline to appeal reset to thirty days later on November 3. But by that date, iiiTec still had not filed its notice of appeal; it had only filed another Rule 59/60 motion to reconsider. Under Rule 59, the motion was untimely for exceeding the strict 28-day period to file; and under Rule 60, the motion could not toll the deadline because it was filed more than 28-days after final judgment.” (footnote omitted).

No. 22-20076 (Dec. 27, 2022, unpublished).