Brown Fox Secures Appellate Win at the Fifth Circuit: Underscores Importance of Appeal Deadlines

February 18, 2025 by Brown Fox

Brown Fox recently secured a victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which dismissed an untimely appeal in a case involving post-judgment motions for attorney’s fees. The appeal arose from a dispute over a restaurant’s debit card transactions, with the plaintiffs challenging the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Brown Fox’s trial team. Members of the Brown Fox appellate team, in this case led by Paulette Miniter and including Andrew Debter, argued that the trial-court victory should be upheld. Their briefing addressed multiple key issues, including the jurisdictional timing argument that the Fifth Circuit ultimately found dispositive.

The Fifth Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs’ appeal—filed more than nine months after final judgment—was untimely because a post-judgment motion for attorney’s fees does not automatically extend the deadline to appeal. As the court emphasized, while a district court has the discretion to extend the appeal deadline in light of a pending fee motion, such an extension must be explicitly granted. Because no such order was issued, the plaintiffs’ appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Takeaway for Trial Attorneys: Post-judgment motions for attorney’s fees alone do not extend the time to appeal. To preserve appellate rights, parties should timely request an extension or file their notice of appeal within the standard deadline following final judgment.

For more details, contact our appellate team at Brown Fox.