State v. Meints, 291 Neb. 869

Meints was convicted in county court of three municipal ordinance violations; he appealed to district court.
District court issued an order on May 1, 2014 purporting to dismiss Meints’ appeal for failure to pay for transcript, but the dismissal was "subject to being reinstated" if Meints filed and set a motion for reinstatement within 14 days.
Meints filed a motion to reinstate (filed May 15) and set it for hearing; a May 30 docket entry purportedly denied reinstatement but was neither signed by the judge nor file-stamped by the clerk.
Meints moved for reconsideration on June 10; the district court overruled that motion on July 25, 2014, and that order confirmed the earlier dismissal without condition.
Meints filed a notice of appeal on August 25, 2014. The Court of Appeals summarily dismissed the appeal as untimely; Meints sought further review by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Meints)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Was the May 1 order final and appealable?	May 1 dismissal was not final because it was conditional and could be reinstated.	Argued the dismissal was final as written.	Held: May 1 order was conditional and not final or appealable.
Was the May 30 docket entry a final order?	Docket entry denying reinstatement was not signed/file-stamped; thus not a final entry.	State conceded it was not a final, entered order.	Held: May 30 entry was not a final, entered order.
Was the July 25 order final and appealable?	July 25 overruled reconsideration and confirmed dismissal without condition, making it final.	State argued earlier orders controlled appeal timing.	Held: July 25 order was final and appealable.
Was Meints’ notice of appeal timely?	Notice filed Aug 25 was within 30 days of July 25 (adjusted for Sunday deadline).	Court of Appeals held appeal untimely based on earlier perceived final order.	Held: Notice was timely; Court of Appeals erred in dismissing for lack of jurisdiction.

State v. Hausmann, 277 Neb. 819 (2009) (a party must file notice of appeal within 30 days of an entered final order if appealing that earlier order)
Nichols v. Nichols, 288 Neb. 339 (2014) (conditional orders that depend on future action are not final)
Schaad v. Simms, 240 Neb. 758 (1992) (orders that provide a post-decision window to prevent finality are conditional)
Federal Land Bank of Omaha v. Johnson, 226 Neb. 877 (1987) (same principle regarding conditional dismissals)
State ex rel. Stenberg v. Moore, 258 Neb. 199 (1999) (orders conditioned on future filings are not appealable final judgments)
State v. Pratt, 273 Neb. 817 (2007) (describes types of final orders reviewable on appeal)