In Patterson v. Dean Morris, LLP, ___ F.3d ___ (Mar. 22, 2006), the Fifth Circuit held (with one judge dissenting) that the statutory time limit for the federal courts of appeals to rule on a discretionary appeal from an order granting or denying remand under CAFA (60 days) does not begin to run until leave to appeal is granted. [Hat tip: How Appealing]
The Fifth Circuit also followed a recent Ninth Circuit holding that the losing party's 7-day time limit to file a petition for permission to appeal is 7 court days, not 7 calendar days. Slip op. at 7 n.1 (citing Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1309, AFL-CIO v. Laidlaw Transit Servs., Inc., 435 F.3d 1140, 1146 (9th Cir. 2006)). The Ninth Circuit so held in Amalgamated even though the statute says that the petition "must be made to the court of appeals not less than seven days after entry of the order," suggesting that the 7 days is a waiting period, not a deadline. 28 U.S.C. § 1453(c)(1) (emphasis added). The court explained that "there is no apparent logical reason for the choice of the word 'less' in the statute" and that "use of the word 'less' is, in fact, illogical and contrary to the stated purpose of the provision." Amalgamated, 435 F.3d 1140 (slip op. at 1093-94).
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