NO. 25987
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI`I
FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK, Successor by Merger to
First Interstate Bank of Hawaii, fka American Security Bank,
a Hawaii corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee
vs.
CAROL SING and GARY SING, aka Phillip G.K. Sing,
Defendants-Appellants
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CIV. NO. 1RC96-3799)
ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL
(By: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Acoba, Duffy, JJ.)
Upon review of the statements support and contesting jurisdiction, the
motion to dismiss appeal, the papers in opposition to the motion and the
record, it appears that the thirty-day period for appealing the order denying
appellants' post-judgment motions commenced when the order was filed in
the district court on May 30, 2003, not when the order was received by
appellants. See HRAP
4(a)(1)("[T]he notice of appeal shall be filed within 30 days after entry
of the judgment or appealable order); HRAP 4(a)(5)("A judgment or order
is entered when it is filed in the office of the clerk of the court.").
Appellants
claim that they did not receive prompt notice of the May 30, 2003 order,
but the district court's failure to provide prompt notice did not excuse
appellants from filing a timely notice of appeal from the May 30, 2003
order inasmuch as appellants knew that the order was being approved by
the district judge and appellants received a file-stamped copy of the order
two weeks before the June 29, 2003 deadline for filing the notice of appeal
or for seeking an extension of time to file the notice of appeal under
HRAP 4(a)(4)(A). The notice of appeal filed on July 17, 2003 is an untimely
appeal of the May 30, 2003 order and we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. See
HRAP 26(b); Bacon v. Karlin,
68 Hawai`i 648, 650, 727 P.2d 1127, 1128 (1986)(The failure of an appellant
to file a timely notice of appeal in a civil matter is a jurisdictional
defect that can neither be waived by the parties nor disregarded by the
appellate court in the exercise of judicial discretion). Therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this appeal is dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai`i, November 18, 2003.