The Appeal Clock for Successful Post- Judgment Motions
In Gessele v. Jack in the Box Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that when a district court alters its judgment by granting a post-judgment motion, the time to appeal runs from the entry of an amended judgment. Unlike orders denying post-judgment motions, the appeal clock does not start with the order itself.
Simplifying a fair bit, Gessele involved wage and hour claims against a fast-food chain. The district court granted summary judgment for the fast-food chain on some of the plaintiffs’ theories of relief. But the plaintiffs prevailed at trial on their other theories. The district court then entered a judgment on all the claims.
Shortly thereafter, the fast-food chain moved for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) on one of the plaintiff’s theories of relief. The district court granted this motion About a month later, the district court entered an amended judgment. And just under 30 days after that, the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal.
That timeline raised a timeliness issue. If the time to appeal ran from the order granting the Rule 50(b) motion, the plaintiffs’ appeal was late. But if the clock started with entry of the amended judgment, the appeal was timely.
The Ninth Circuit held that the appeal was timely. To be sure, the time to appeal after a decision on a post-judgment motion normally runs from the order on the motion. But that’s because district courts deny most post-judgment motions. These denials mean there is nothing to change in the judgment. So the time to appeal starts with the order.
Things are different when a district court grants a post-judgment motion. The grant changes the outcome, at least in part. That change in outcome requires a new judgment. And the Ninth Circuit holds that this entry of a new judgment is necessary to re-start the appeal clock.
Gessele v. Jack in the Box Inc., 2025 WL 3278021 (9th Cir. Nov. 25, 2025), available at the Ninth Circuit and Westlaw
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