Here, the judgment, which was set forth on a separate document, was entered in the civil docket on Wednesday, December 17, 2003. Pursuant to Rule 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure, Plaintiffs had until Friday, January 16, 2004, to file their notice of appeal. Although the notice of appeal was dated January 16, 2004, it was not filed until 12:06 A.M. on January 17, 2004. Thus, it is untimely.
[FN] The thrust of Plaintiffs’ response and accompanying affidavit of counsel is that their tardy filing is de minimis and should thus be ignored. Six minutes seems trivial and unlikely to cause prejudice, but if six minutes can be excused, why not six hours or six days? As we discuss, there is a safety valve, but it lies with the district court and requires a timely application, which never materialized in this case. Ignoring established purposes and methods for extensions of time, Plaintiffs argue for different or additional relief. They are out of luck. Like statutes of limitation, statutes of repose, and other such time bars, rights may be irretrievably lost due to delay.
Alva v Teen Help (10th Cir., Nov. 22, 2006) No. 04-4012. (Hat tip to Courthouse News)