Appeal too late? Maybe not.

Last week, the Louisiana Third Circuit released an interesting opinion about a fine point of appellate procedure, State in the Interest of B.R.C., 16-273 (La. App. 3 Cir. 5/25/16).

Here’s the set-up. The appeal was brought under Children’s Code art. 332, under which the appeal delay is 15 days from the mailing of notice of judgment. The motion for appeal was filed on February 25. According to the record, notice of judgment was mailed on February 8, making the appeal untimely. But the appellant contended that, according to the postage-meter date on the envelope, notice of judgment was actually mailed no earlier than February 10, which would make the February 25 appeal timely.

The Third Circuit held that, while it could not accept a photocopy of the postage-meter date in deciding the merits of the appeal, it could consider the photocopy in deciding whether to remand the case to the trial court to determine the actual date that notice of judgment was mailed. Following that hearing, the record was to be supplemented with the hearing transcript, any pleadings or evidence offered in connection with the hearing, and the trial court’s judgment concerning the actual date that notice of judgment was mailed. As precedent for this unusual procedure, the court cite Ventre v. Pacific Indemnity Co., 391 So. 2d 95 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1980).