LINDA CLARKE, APPELLEE, V. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA, DEFENDANT AND THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF, APPELLEE, AND GREGG GRAHAM, THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT, APPELLANT.
No. S-16-146
Nebraska Supreme Court
May 12, 2017
296 Neb. 632
Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets
296 NEBRASKA REPORTS
Jurisdiction. A question of jurisdiction is a question of law. - Statutes. Statutory interpretation presents a question of law.
- Judgments: Appeal and Error. Appellate courts independently review questions of law decided by a lower court.
- Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. Before reaching the legal issues presented for review, it is the power and duty of an appellate court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter before it, irrespective of whether the issue is raised by the parties.
- Jurisdiction: Time: Notice: Appeal and Error. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912 (Reissue 2016), to vest an appellate court with jurisdiction, a party must timely file a notice of appeal. - Judgments: Time: Notice: Appeal and Error. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912(3) (Reissue 2016), filing a timely postjudgment motion terminates the time in which a notice of appeal must be filed; instead, the 30-day period to appeal starts anew upon the entry of the order ruling upon the postjudgment motion. - ____: ____: ____: ____.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912(3) (Reissue 2016) provides a savings clause for a notice of appeal filed after the announcement of the court‘s decision on a timely postjudgment motion but before a ruling thereon has been entered; the notice of appeal is treated as filed on the date of and after the entry of the order. - ____: ____: ____: ____. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912 (Reissue 2016), to determine if a notice of appeal filed before the court has entered an order or judgment on a postjudgment motion is effective, an appellate court must answer two questions: (1) Was the postjudgment motion timely and effective, and (2) Was the notice of appealfiled after the court announced its decision or order on the postjudgment motion? - New Trial: Words and Phrases. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1142 (Reissue 2016), a new trial is a reexamination in the same court of an issue of fact after a verdict by a jury, a report of a referee, or a trial and decision by the court. - Summary Judgment: Motions for New Trial: Time: Notice: Appeal and Error. A motion for new trial following the entry of summary judgment is not a proper motion and does not terminate the 30-day period to file a notice of appeal under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912 (Reissue 2016). - Pleadings: Judgments.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1329 (Reissue 2016) does not clearly define the grounds for filing a motion to alter or amend a judgment. - Pleadings: Judgments: Appeal and Error. An appellate court reviews a postjudgment motion based on the relief it seeks, rather than its title.
- Pleadings: Judgments. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1329 (Reissue 2016), if a postjudgment motion seeks a substantive alteration of the judgment—as opposed to the correction of clerical errors or relief wholly collateral to the judgment—a court may treat the motion as one to alter or amend the judgment. - ____: ____. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1329 (Reissue 2016), a motion for reconsideration is the functional equivalent of a motion to alter or amend a judgment. - Judges: Words and Phrases. A judge‘s proclamation from the bench is an announcement.
- Words and Phrases. An announcement may include trial docket notes, file-stamped but unsigned journal entries, or signed journal entries which are not file stamped.
- Judgments: Notice: Appeal and Error. For the savings clause in
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912(3) (Reissue 2016) to be effective, the notice of appeal must show on its face that it relates to the decision which has been announced by the trial court and the record must show that a judgment was subsequently rendered or entered in accordance with the decision which was announced and to which the notice of appeal relates. - Pleadings: Judgments: Appeal and Error. Under
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912 (Reissue 2016), Reutzel v. Reutzel, 252 Neb. 354, 562 N.W.2d 351 (1997), has been superseded on its holding that a portion of Dale Electronics, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 203 Neb. 133, 277 N.W.2d 572 (1979), is of no effect and on its holding that the savings clause adopted in Dale Electronics, Inc., does not apply to§ 25-1912 . - Records: Appeal and Error. It is the appellant‘s burden to create a record for the appellate court which supports the errors assigned.
- ____: ____. A party‘s brief may not expand the evidentiary record.
Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County: SHELLY R. STRATMAN, Judge. Appeal dismissed.
Norman Denenberg for appellant.
Susan J. Spahn, of Endacott, Peetz & Timmer, P.C., L.L.O., for appellee First National Bank of Omaha.
Edward W. Hasenjager and Howard A. Kaiman for appellee Linda Clarke.
HEAVICAN, C.J., WRIGHT, CASSEL, STACY, KELCH, and FUNKE, JJ.
FUNKE, J.
NATURE OF CASE
Gregg Graham appealed from orders by the district court for Douglas County which granted summary judgment for appellee Linda Clarke against appellee First National Bank of Omaha (FNB) and in favor of FNB against Graham. Graham filed his notice of appeal after filing a motion for new trial but before the court had ruled on the motion.
FNB filed a motion for summary dismissal arguing that the Nebraska Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction, under
FACTS
BACKGROUND
In February 2013, Hilda Graham (Hilda) and Clarke opened an account (the Account) with FNB to hold a certificate of deposit (CD). The account agreement classified the Account as
In August 2013, Hilda called FNB and spoke with Naomi Craven, an assistant branch manager. During the call, Hilda requested that the account be changed to a single-party account with a pay-on-death beneficiary, removing Clarke as the co-owner with a right of survivorship. Hilda requested that Graham be named the pay-on-death beneficiary.
Despite FNB‘s internal procedure and
Hilda died in September 2013. When Clarke requested payment of the CD from FNB, she was denied access because she was listed as neither a co-owner nor a pay-on-death beneficiary on the Account in FNB‘s computer records. Instead, Graham was paid the balance of the CD based on Craven‘s changes to the Account.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Clarke filed suit against FNB, alleging that she was the owner of the CD. FNB denied the allegations of Clarke‘s complaint but also filed a third-party action seeking recovery against Graham to the extent FNB was liable to Clarke. Clarke subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment against FNB, and as a result, FNB filed a motion for summary judgment against Clarke and, in the alternative, against Graham.
The following timeline includes the relevant dates to this appeal:
- February 1, 2016: Clarke‘s motion for summary judgment against FNB and FNB‘s motion for summary judgment against Graham were sustained by written order of the court.
- February 5, 2016: Graham‘s “Motion for New Trial to Amend Judgment of Summary Judgment Order” was filed.
- February 9, 2016: Graham‘s notice of appeal was filed.
- February 12, 2016: The order denying Graham‘s motion for new trial was entered.
FNB filed a motion for summary dismissal before the Court of Appeals, arguing that it lacked jurisdiction because Graham‘s notice of appeal was filed prematurely and, therefore, was without effect, under
In response to the motion for summary dismissal, Graham‘s attorney filed an “Opposition” and an “Affidavit in Opposition” to the motion for summary dismissal. Attached to the “Opposition” was an unsigned correspondence dated February 11, 2016, from Graham‘s counsel to the bailiff. The letter indicated that Graham‘s counsel had filed a motion for new trial; that a hearing date had been set; that he had been advised by the bailiff that his motion for new trial was not allowed to challenge a summary judgment; and that as a result, he had filed a notice of appeal.
The Court of Appeals overruled the motion for summary dismissal. We moved this case to our docket under our statutory authority to regulate the caseloads of the appellate courts of this state.1
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
Graham assigns, restated, that the court erred in (1) finding that there was no evidence that the account agreement was actually signed and returned by Hilda, (2) finding that the
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[1] A question of jurisdiction is a question of law.2
[2] Statutory interpretation presents a question of law.3
[3] Appellate courts independently review questions of law decided by a lower court.4
ANALYSIS
[4] Before reaching the legal issues presented for review, it is the power and duty of an appellate court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter before it, irrespective of whether the issue is raised by the parties.5
[5,6] Under
[7] Section 25-1912(3) provides a savings clause for a notice of appeal filed after the announcement of the court‘s decision
When any motion terminating the time for filing a notice of appeal is timely filed by any party, a notice of appeal filed before the court announces its decision upon the terminating motion shall have no effect, whether filed before or after the timely filing of the terminating motion. A new notice of appeal shall be filed within the prescribed time after the entry of the order ruling on the motion. . . . A notice of appeal filed after the court announces its decision or order on the terminating motion but before the entry of the order is treated as filed on the date of and after the entry of the order.10
[8] Accordingly, we must consider two questions to determine if Graham‘s notice of appeal was timely. First, we must decide whether Graham‘s motion for new trial in response to the order granting summary judgment terminated the 30-day appeal period. Second, if the motion did terminate the 30-day appeal period, we must decide whether Graham‘s notice of appeal was filed after the court announced its decision or order on the postjudgment motion.
GRAHAM‘S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL WAS EFFECTIVELY MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND WHICH TERMINATED TIME TO FILE NOTICE OF APPEAL
[9,10] Under
[11-13] However, our statutes do not clearly define the grounds for filing a motion to alter or amend a judgment, unlike a motion for new trial.14 Accordingly, we review a post-judgment motion based on the relief it seeks, rather than its title.15 If the postjudgment motion seeks a substantive alteration of the judgment—as opposed to the correction of clerical errors or relief wholly collateral to the judgment—a court may treat the motion as one to alter or amend the judgment.16 A motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 10 days after the entry of judgment.17
[14] In Strong v. Omaha Constr. Indus. Pension Plan,18 the appellant filed a motion for new trial after the entry of an order for summary judgment. The motion for new trial sought “‘an Order granting a new trial’ and any other ‘relief deemed equitable and just‘” because “there were irregularities in the proceedings and . . . the court erred on questions of law.” We stated that “[i]n effect, [the appellant had] requested that the court reconsider its grant of summary judgment.”19 We further held that a motion for reconsideration is the functional equivalent of a motion to alter or amend a judgment, which
Graham‘s motion for new trial requested that the court vacate its decisions granting summary judgment and hold a trial to resolve the genuine issues of material fact. Graham based his request on numerous grounds, including a claim of irregularities in the proceedings and a claim that the order was contrary to law. Accordingly, Graham‘s motion for new trial was, in effect, a motion for reconsideration, which we treat as a motion to alter or amend the judgment.
Graham filed his motion 4 days after the court granted summary dismissal. Therefore, the motion was timely filed and terminated the 30-day period to appeal.
GRAHAM‘S NOTICE OF APPEAL WAS WITHOUT EFFECT BECAUSE IT WAS FILED BEFORE COURT ANNOUNCED ITS DECISION ON GRAHAM‘S POSTJUDGMENT MOTION
FNB argues that under
Graham contends that
Statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning, and an appellate court will not resort to interpretation
The Legislature has not defined “announces” in
Section 25-1912(2) states:
A notice of appeal or docket fee filed or deposited after the announcement of a decision or final order but before the entry of the judgment, decree, or final order shall be treated as filed or deposited after the entry of the judgment, decree, or final order and on the date of entry.
Section 25-1144.01, which is mentioned in
In Despain v. Despain,24 the appellant filed a motion for new trial after the court distributed an unsigned journal entry containing its substantive decision, but before the court filed the signed dissolution decree. The unsigned journal entry contained the following statements: “‘In order to avoid confusion as to appeal time, [t]his order shall be forwarded to counsel both unsigned and unfiled. A signed copy will be filed contemporaneously with the entry of the decree.‘”25 The court subsequently overruled the motion for new trial, and the appellant filed a notice of appeal.26
The appellee argued that the motion for new trial was untimely and without effect because it was filed before the
We rejected the appellee‘s argument and determined that based on the plain language of
Justice Cassel wrote separately to concur with our decision in Despain, noting that even with the savings clause set forth in
The Court of Appeals has also considered what qualifies as an announcement under
We are also informed by the ordinary meanings of “announce” and “announcement.” Black‘s Law Dictionary defines “announce” as “[t]o make publicly known; to proclaim formally <the judge announced her decision in open court>.”32
[15,16] Based on our prior holdings and the preceding definitions, it is clear that a judge‘s proclamation from the bench is an announcement. However, an announcement is not limited to statements from the bench. An announcement may also include trial docket notes, file-stamped but unsigned journal entries, or signed journal entries which are not file stamped. It is clear that making an announcement requires some type of public or official notification, as the ordinary meaning of “announce” requires.
[17] In Dale Electronics, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co.,34 we held that a notice of appeal filed after the court announced its decision by letter, but before it had entered its decision, was timely. Specifically, we stated:
[A] notice of appeal filed after the trial court has announced its decision, but before a judgment has been rendered or entered, is effective to confer jurisdiction on this court if the notice of appeal shows on its face that it relates to the decision which has been announced by the trial court and the record shows that a judgment was subsequently rendered or entered in accordance with the decision which was announced and to which the notice of appeal relates.35
After our decision in Dale Electronics, Inc., the Legislature added
We then interpreted the amended version of
[18] However, in 1997, the Legislature added the savings clause to
FNB also references Haber in support of its jurisdictional argument. However, Haber is not informative, insofar as it is procedurally distinguished. In Haber, the appellant filed a notice of appeal after the court had overruled one party‘s motion for new trial and partially overruled the other party‘s
[19,20] Further, it is the appellant‘s burden to create a record for the appellate court which supports the errors assigned.42 This burden also requires that the record establish the appellate court‘s basis for jurisdiction over the appeal.43 Additionally, a party‘s brief may not expand the evidentiary record.44
Here, Graham argues that the savings clause treats his notice of appeal as filed on the date of the court‘s entry overruling his postjudgment motion, February 12, 2016. The only evidence in the record that an announcement was made was the “Affidavit in Opposition” to Clarke‘s motion for summary dismissal filed by Graham‘s counsel. This affidavit indicates that between February 5 and 9, the paralegal for Graham‘s counsel was informed by the bailiff that the motion for new trial would be overruled because a motion for new trial was not allowed to challenge a summary judgment.
The unsigned letter that Graham purportedly sent the court on February 11, 2016, contends that Graham‘s attorney was told by the bailiff that his motion for new trial was not allowed to challenge a summary judgment. This correspondence is not evidence, as it was merely attached to the pleading filed in opposition to the motion for summary dismissal.
Graham also alleges, for the first time in his brief on appeal, that the date of the announcement was February 7 or 8, 2016. This statement from Graham‘s brief may not expand the evidentiary record.
We find that the record presented by Graham is insufficient to determine whether any statement made to him was made as an official announcement by the court. Therefore, we cannot determine that an announcement was made which was sufficient to invoke the savings clause of
CONCLUSION
Because Graham filed his notice of appeal before the court ruled on his timely motion to alter or amend the judgment, his notice of appeal was without effect. Therefore, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
MILLER-LERMAN, J., not participating.
