SANKARA v. CITY OF NEW YORK (2018)

SUMMARY ORDER

Plaintiff-Appellant Ahmadou Sankara (“Sankara”), proceeding pro se, appeals from a judgment of the District Court granting a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants-Appellees City of New York and Deborah Mateo. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history of the case, and the issues on appeal.

Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(4)(B)(i), a notice of appeal is not “effective” if the appellant timely filed a motion for reconsideration pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) and that motion remains pending before the district court. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(B)(i); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(A)(vi). In this case, Sankara simultaneously filed with the District Court a notice of appeal and a letter that could be construed as a motion for reconsideration of the judgment under Rule 60(b).¹ So construed, that letter deprives this Court of jurisdiction to consider this appeal, since the District Court has taken no action on the motion.

For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is DISMISSED without prejudice to Sankara filing a second notice of appeal upon the District Court’s resolution of the motion for reconsideration.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The letter to the District Court is identical to pages 2–7 of the Notice of Appeal filed on the same day, and though it makes a vague assertion that Sankara “submitted a motion to the Court due upon for the Court to relief judgment opinion & order February 22, 2018, due upon Federal Rule 60, mistake, misrepresentation, excusable neglect, surprise, misconduct of an adverse party, newly discovery evidence, deliberate indifference, due upon under memorandum of law in support my claim[,]” the District Court docket sheet merely describes the submission as a “letter with attached copy of Notice of Appeal,” and does not indicate that there is a motion pending. [ROA doc. 86.]