Opinion
22-2063
01-19-2023
PAKUJA CRYSTAL VANG, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VALDESE WEAVER; MELISSA MITCHELL, Safety Manager; SCOTT LNU, Plant Manager; BRITTANY LNU, Circa Plant Human Resource; NANCY YANG, Main Plant Coordinator, Defendants-Appellees.
Pakuja Crystal Vang, Appellant Pro Se.
UNPUBLISHED
Submitted: January 17, 2023
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, Chief District Judge. (1:22-cv-00119-MR-WCM)
Pakuja Crystal Vang, Appellant Pro Se.
Before KING and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM
Pakuja Crystal Vang seeks to appeal the district court's order dismissing without prejudice her civil complaint. In civil cases, parties have 30 days after the entry of the district court's final judgment or order to note an appeal. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A). The district court may extend the time to note an appeal, however, if a party moves for such an extension within 30 days of the expiration of the appeal period and demonstrates excusable neglect or good cause warranting an extension. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5). "[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement." Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007).
The district court entered its dismissal order on September 1, 2022. Vang filed her notice of appeal on October 6, 2022, which was after the 30-day appeal period had expired but within the period for seeking an extension of the time to appeal. Together with her notice of appeal, Vang submitted a pro se letter to the district court providing reasons for her belated filing of the notice of appeal. We liberally construe Vang's letter as a motion for an extension of the appeal period and remand this case to the district court for the limited purpose of determining whether Vang has demonstrated excusable neglect or good cause warranting an extension of the appeal period. The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court for further consideration.
REMANDED