Butler Products Co., Inc. v. Roush

Decision Date14 August 1984
Docket NumberNo. 1,CA-CIV,1
Citation699 P.2d 906,145 Ariz. 32
PartiesBUTLER PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC., a corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles D. ROUSH and Carol Roush, husband and wife, Defendants-Appellants. 7562.
CourtArizona Court of Appeals

Owens, Rybarsyk & Nussbaum, P.C. by Paul M. Rybarsyk, Scottsdale, for plaintiff-appellee.

Treon, Warnicke & Roush, P.A. by Raymond N. Norris, Arthur G. Newman, Jr., Phoenix, for defendants-appellants.

GRANT, Presiding Judge.

Butler Products Company, Inc., (Butler) plaintiff/appellee, has filed with this court a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. Although the court normally disposes of such matters by unpublished orders, the issue presented is significant and a published opinion is warranted. See Schweiger v. China Doll Restaurant, Inc., 138 Ariz. 183, 673 P.2d 927 (App.1983).

The motion to dismiss the appeal presents the following question:

Is a rule 59 motion which does not contain a memorandum of points and authorities and does not request any specific relief sufficient to extend the time limits within which an appeal must be taken?

A notice of appeal must be filed not later than 30 days after the entry of judgment from which the appeal is taken. Rule 9(a), Arizona Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. Appellate courts do not have jurisdiction to consider appeals which are not timely filed. Harbel Oil Co. v. Steele, 80 Ariz. 368, 298 P.2d 789 (1956); Bergman v. Bergman, 1 Ariz.App. 209, 401 P.2d 163 (1965). A motion timely filed pursuant to rule 59, Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, extends the time period for taking an appeal. Rule 9(b), Arizona Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. However, time limits for filing a motion for new trial are to be strictly applied. Welch v. McClure, 123 Ariz. 161, 598 P.2d 980 (1979).

Formal judgment was entered in this case on November 1, 1983. On November 9, 1983 the appellants filed a motion for new trial or in the alternative, to make additional findings of fact. 1 However, as the appellee points out the motion had no substance to it whatsoever. It merely requested that a new trial be granted or that additional findings of fact be made and it requested leave to file a later memorandum. On November 22, 1983, the appellants filed a memorandum stating the grounds for the request for new trial or additional findings. When the motion was denied, the appellants on December 28, 1983, filed a notice of appeal from the judgment.

A notice of appeal filed more than 30 days after the judgment has been entered is timely only if a timely time-extending motion was filed. Rule 9(b), Arizona Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. Rule 6(b), Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, provides that the time for filing the various "time-extending" motions cannot be enlarged. The appellants point out that the judgment had been entered before objections to the formal judgment had been heard, but this has no bearing on when the "time-extending" motions need to be filed.

Appellee contends that appellants' motion filed on November 9, 1983 was in substance a mere request for extension of time to file the post-judgment motion. Appellee further contends that since the substance of the motion was not filed within 15 days after the judgment, it was untimely and the notice of appeal which was filed thereafter and which was not filed within 30 days from the judgment, was untimely. See Edwards v. Young, 107 Ariz. 283, 486 P.2d 181 (1971). We agree. Rule 59(c), Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, provides:

1. The motion for new trial shall be in writing, shall specify generally the grounds upon which the motion is based....

Moreover rule IV(a) of the Uniform Rules of Practice provides:

All motions made before and after trial shall be in writing, shall indicate the precise nature of the relief requested, shall be accompanied by a memorandum indicating, as a minimum, the precise legal points, statutes and authorities relied on, citing the specific portions or pages thereof, and shall be served on the opposing parties....

We hold that the motion filed by the appellants did not meet the requirements of either rule 59(c) or Uniform Rule IV(a). Since the appellants' motion is not in compliance with the rules it did not operate to extend the time limits within which to appeal. As the Supreme Court said in Hegel v. O'Malley Insurance Co., 117 Ariz. 411, 573 P.2d 485 (1977):

Counsel, of course, have the obligation and burden of filing properly styled motions which clearly indicate the nature of the relief sought and the appropriate legal references to support the motion.

Id. at 412, ...

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19 cases
  • Dowling v. Stapley
    • United States
    • Arizona Court of Appeals
    • April 16, 2009
    ...the underlying appealable order or judgment, but has failed to raise subject matter jurisdiction below. Butler Prod. Co., Inc. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 32, 699 P.2d 906, 906 (App. 1984) (citations omitted); Health For Life, 203 Ariz. at 538, ¶ 12, 57 P.3d at 728. When an appellant fails to p......
  • State v. Ortiz-Padilla
    • United States
    • Arizona Court of Appeals
    • May 28, 2015
    ...the rule, but that fail to comply with other basic filing requirements, do not toll filing deadlines. See Butler Prods. Co. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 34, 699 P.2d 906, 908 (App. 1984).6 In Butler Products Co., the defendants filed a motion for new trial within the time for filing prescribed b......
  • Bowman v. Board of Regents of Universities and State Colleges of Arizona, 1
    • United States
    • Arizona Court of Appeals
    • September 21, 1989
    ...Appellate Procedure (cross-appeal must be filed within 20 days from date the notice of appeal is filed); Butler Products Co., Inc. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 699 P.2d 906 (App.1984) (failure to file within time limits of Rule 9 deprives an appellate court of ATTORNEY'S FEES Because we are reve......
  • Aea Fed. Credit Union v. Yuma Funding, Inc.
    • United States
    • Arizona Court of Appeals
    • March 31, 2015
    ...(citing Health for Life Brands, Inc. v. Powley, 203 Ariz. 536, 538, ¶ 12, 57 P.3d 726, 728 (App.2002), and Butler Prods. Co. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 32, 699 P.2d 906, 906 (App. 1984) ). Yuma Funding's failure to properly and timely appeal the order appointing the receiver deprives this Cour......
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8 books & journal articles
  • § 3.4.1.2.2 Motion Must Refer To Correct Rule To Extend Time.
    • United States
    • State Bar of Arizona Appellate Handbook 6th Edition 2015 Chapter 3 Civil Appeals (§ 3.1 to § 3.18.5)
    • Invalid date
    ...J-R Constr. Co. v. Paddock Pool Constr. Co., 128 Ariz. 343, 346, 625 P.2d 932, 935 (App. 1981). However, in Butler Prods. Co. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 33-34, 699 P.2d 906, 907-08 (App. 1984), the appeal was dismissed as being untimely where a motion for new trial was filed that did not conta......
  • § 3.4.1.2.2 Motion Must Refer To Correct Rule To Extend Time.
    • United States
    • State Bar of Arizona Appellate Handbook 6th Edition 2015 Chapter 3 Civil Appeals (§ 3.1 to § 3.18.5)
    • Invalid date
    ...J-R Constr. Co. v. Paddock Pool Constr. Co., 128 Ariz. 343, 346, 625 P.2d 932, 935 (App. 1981). However, in Butler Prods. Co. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 33-34, 699 P.2d 906, 907-08 (App. 1984), the appeal was dismissed as being untimely where a motion for new trial was filed that did not conta......
  • D Appeals from Justice Courts
    • United States
    • State Bar of Arizona Time Limitations Applicable to Actions and Procedures in the Arizona Superior Court Part 8 Appeals (a to D)
    • Invalid date
    ...(App. 2008). Appellate courts do not have jurisdiction to consider appeals that are not timely filed. Butler Products Co., Inc. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 699 P.2d 906 (App. Div.1 1984). Notice of appeal was premature and a nullity when motion for new trial was still pending before the superio......
  • 7-K Motion for Reconsideration
    • United States
    • State Bar of Arizona Time Limitations Applicable to Civil Actions and Procedures in the Arizona Superior Court (2019 Edition) Part 7 Post-trial Motions and Proceedings
    • Invalid date
    ...ARCP; Rule 35.1, ARFLP. Annotations Time limits for filing a motion for new trial are to be strictly applied. Butler Prods. Co. v. Roush, 145 Ariz. 32, 699 P.2d 906 (App. 1984). What constitutes a "reasonable time" under Rule 60(c), ARCP, is dependent in large measure on the underlying fact......
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