Background
Gilbert Lau, proceeding pro se, sued his former employer, Thrifty Liquor No. 10, L.L.C., along with co-owner Roland P. Toups II and manager Elizabeth Patterson. He asserted claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law, as well as respondeat superior and prima facie tort claims. He later added an oral breach-of-contract claim against Thrifty and Toups.
After some claims were dismissed and discovery proceeded on the remaining disability-discrimination and contract claims, the district court granted summary judgment to the defendants on December 5, 2025. Lau filed his first notice of appeal on January 8, 2026—34 days after entry of judgment. He argued that his motions for reconsideration tolled the 30-day deadline for filing a civil appeal.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because Lau’s notice of appeal was untimely. His December 5 and December 23 reconsideration motions did not toll the deadline because, notwithstanding their references to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), they challenged an interlocutory discovery order rather than the final judgment and did not substantively qualify as another tolling motion.
Lau’s January 6 reconsideration motion did challenge the final judgment and had the substance of a Rule 59(e) motion, but it was filed after Rule 59(e)’s 28-day deadline. Although the motion was postmarked December 30, the Western District of Louisiana’s procedures deemed a pro se paper filing filed when the clerk’s office received it. Because the clerk received the motion on January 6, it could not toll the appeal period.
Key Takeaways
- A civil notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order being appealed.
- A motion’s substance, rather than its caption, determines whether it qualifies as a motion that tolls the appellate deadline.
- In the Western District of Louisiana, a pro se litigant’s paper filing is filed when the clerk’s office receives it, not when it is postmarked.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that the deadlines governing notices of appeal and Rule 59(e) motions are strictly enforced, including against pro se litigants. A reconsideration motion preserves appellate time only if it substantively qualifies as a tolling motion and is timely filed under the governing rules.
Litigants filing paper motions should also consult the district court’s filing procedures rather than assume that mailing or postmarking a document completes filing. Missing the applicable receipt deadline can eliminate appellate jurisdiction before the merits are ever considered.