Pontarelli v. Stone, Civ. A. No. 86-0370.

• Decision Date: 19 May 1989
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 86-0370.
• Parties: Trooper Alvin T. PONTARELLI, et al., v. Walter E. STONE, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

713 F. Supp. 525

Trooper Alvin T. PONTARELLI, et al., v. Walter E. STONE, et al.

Civ. A. No. 86-0370.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

May 19, 1989.

Ina P. Schiff, Providence, R.I., for plaintiffs.

Robin E. Feder, office of the Atty. Gen., Kurt Hayes, Providence, R.I., for State of R.I. and Arlene Violet.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

TORRES, District Judge.

The "Plaintiffs" have moved, pursuant to Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(5), for an extension of time in which to file a "new" notice of appeal from a final judgment entered on February 2, 1989. The motion was filed in apparent response to an order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit indicating that a prior "amended" notice of appeal was deficient because it failed to "name the appellants taking the appeal" as required by Fed.R. App.P. 3(c). That order also directed the "Plaintiffs" to show cause why their appeal should not be dismissed.

The stated purpose of the requested extension is to permit the "Plaintiffs" to "specifically name the appellants in the body of the notice of appeal." "Plaintiffs' Motion for an Extension of Time to Appeal," at 1. The defendants object on the ground that the "Plaintiffs" have failed to demonstrate "excusable neglect" or "good cause" as required by Rule 4(a)(5).

THE PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Before proceeding to the merits of "Plaintiffs'" motion, it is necessary to briefly summarize the rather tangled procedural history of this case. That history begins with the eight count complaint that was filed on behalf of Rhode Island State Police Lodge 25, FOP, several of its male officers and two of its female members, Linda Bailey and Mary Nunes. Trooper Nunes became a member of the Rhode Island State Police after successfully completing the 1985/86 Training Academy for new recruits. The other individual "Plaintiffs" had become members prior to that time. The defendants are Walter E. Stone and Lionel Benjamin, the superintendent and executive officer, respectively, of the Rhode Island State Police; Walter T. Reynolds, the officer charged with responsibility for conducting the 1985/86 Training Academy; Arlene Violet, the Attorney General of the State of Rhode Island during the time the Academy was being conducted, and the State itself.

Counts I and II are directed at Colonel Stone, Major Benjamin and the State. They allege a continuing practice of sex discrimination during an unspecified period of time apparently prior to the 1985/86 Training Academy in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq.), respectively. Counts III and IV contain similar allegations against all five defendants during the Training Academy itself.

Counts V and VI charge sex discrimination and retaliation by Stone, Benjamin, Reynolds, and the State, apparently during the period between the conclusion of the Training Academy and the filing of the complaint. Like the preceding counts, they are based, alternately, on § 1983 and Title VII.

Counts VII and VIII are also directed at Stone, Benjamin, Reynolds, and the State. The former count is based on the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Act (R.I.Gen. Laws §§ 28-7-1 et seq.) and asserts that the defendants interfered with the "Plaintiffs'" organizational and collective bargaining rights under that statute. The latter count consists of a number of state tort law claims asserted by Trooper Nunes for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy both during and after the 1985/86 Training Academy.

This potpourri of claims, claimants, and defendants was gradually reduced as the litigation proceeded through its various stages. The winnowing process began on October 16, 1986 when Judge Selya granted Trooper Bailey's motion to dismiss her claims with prejudice. More chaff was eliminated on August 25, 1988 when this Court granted Attorney General Violet's motion for judgment on the pleadings with respect to Counts III and IV and granted the motions of Defendants Stone, Benjamin, Reynolds, and State to dismiss Count VII and to dismiss Count VIII as to all "Plaintiffs" but Nunes.

Subsequently, Nunes' claims and those of the remaining "Plaintiffs" were severed for purposes of trial, and the former were bifurcated as to liability and damages. The liability portion of Nunes' case was tried in September of 1988 and resulted in a jury verdict finding Reynolds liable under Count III and finding Stone, Benjamin, and the State liable under Count V and the invasion of privacy portion of Count VIII. That verdict also found in favor of Reynolds on Counts V and VIII and in favor of Stone, Benjamin and the State on Count III and the remaining portions of Count VIII.

Shortly thereafter, all "Plaintiffs", other than Nunes, dismissed, with prejudice, all of their claims accruing prior to June 16, 1986, the date on which suit was commenced. In exchange, the defendants released those "Plaintiffs" from any claims arising as a result of the suit except claims for attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988.

The damages portion of Nunes case then proceeded to trial and resulted in a jury verdict awarding only nominal damages against Reynolds and the State and both nominal and punitive damages against Stone and Benjamin. Subsequent to that verdict (i.e., November 21, 1988), this Court, having previously reserved ruling on several motions for directed verdicts, granted those made by Reynolds with respect to Count III and by Stone, Benjamin and the State with respect to Count VIII. The latters' motions for directed verdicts with respect to Count V were, simultaneously, denied. The Court also entered judgment for the defendants on Counts I and II inasmuch as the only "Plaintiffs" with standing to prosecute those counts had dismissed all of their claims, with prejudice.¹ Finally, the Court entered judgment for the defendants on Counts IV and VI (i.e., Nunes' Title VII claims), and denied "Plaintiffs'" requests for declaratory and injunctive relief.

The final step in the winnowing process occurred on December 22, 1988 when the Court granted motions by Stone and Benjamin for new trials unless Nunes consented to a remittitur of a portion of the punitive damages awarded. An acceptance of that remittitur was later filed but not without some controversy as to whether the document filed by "Plaintiffs'" counsel constituted a valid acceptance. See, Memorandum and Order (February 2, 1989).

The net result was that, on February 2, 1989, final judgment was entered in favor of all defendants on Counts I-IV and VI-VIII. With respect to Count V, final judgment was entered for Defendants Reynolds and Violet and for "Plaintiff" Nunes against Defendants Stone, Benjamin, and Rhode Island for nominal damages in the amount of $2.00 each and for punitive damages of $10,000 against Stone and $5,000 against Benjamin.

On February 6, 1989, well within the 30-day period prescribed by Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(1), "Plaintiffs'" counsel filed a notice of appeal stating that "Plaintiffs in the above-entitled action hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit". Apparently recognizing that the notice did not "designate the judgment, order or part thereof appealed from" as required by Fed.R.App.P. 3(c),² "Plaintiffs'" counsel promptly filed an "amended notice of appeal" identifying the judgment appealed from as that entered on February 2, 1989.

On March 28, 1989, after expiration of the 30-day period, the Court of Appeals issued its show cause order indicating that the amended notice of appeal failed to meet another of the three requirements set forth in Rule 3(c) in that it did not identify the party or parties taking the appeal. As previously stated, that order precipitated the instant motion.

LEGAL STANDARD

Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(5) permits the District Court to extend the time for filing a notice of appeal only "... upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause." The use of the disjunctive "or" makes it clear that excusable neglect and good cause are not necessarily synonymous.³ That conclusion is buttressed by the well-established distinction between the excusable neglect required to remove a default judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1) and the good cause sufficient to set aside a default under Fed. R.Civ.P. 55(c).

The exact nature of the distinction is obscured by the fact that there is no litmus test for ascertaining when excusable neglect or good cause exists. Those determinations are not made through the application of precise formulas. Rather, they require the court to identify, weigh and balance the unique factors present in each case. The difference between the two standards resides, primarily, in the relative emphasis placed on those factors and the stringency with which they are applied. Thus, generally speaking, good cause is viewed as a broader and more liberal standard that frees the Court from some of the restraints imposed by the excusable neglect requirement and affords it greater discretion in determining whether to grant relief. This more flexible approach reflects a policy decision that a default judgment should enjoy a greater degree of finality and, therefore, should be more difficult to disturb than a mere default. See, 10 Wright, Miller & Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure, §§ 2692, at 469-71, and 2694 (2d ed. 1983).

However, that does not mean that good cause is so devoid of substance as to constitute carte blanche for disregarding the rules. Moreover, despite their differences, both standards require presentation of a good excuse or explanation for the default and both involve consideration of the same litany of additional factors that make up the rest of the equation. Those factors may include whether the default was willful, whether the defaulting party presents a meritorious case, the extent to which granting relief would prejudice the non-defaulting party, the good faith of the...