Cassel, J.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals summarily dismissed Daniel A. Meints' appeal
The county court convicted Meints of three municipal ordinance violations and sentenced him to pay fines and court costs. Meints appealed his county court convictions to the district court.
We summarize the timeline of the pertinent district court proceeding as follows:
The Court of Appeals summarily dismissed Meints' appeal under Neb. Ct. R. App. P. § 2-107(A)(2) (rev. 2012). Its minute entry quoted the following proposition from State v. Hausmann
In Meints' petition for further review, he assigns that the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing his appeal as being out of time, because the order denying his motion for reconsideration was a final, appealable order.
A jurisdictional question which does not involve a factual dispute is determined by an appellate court as a matter of law.
The issue before us is whether the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing Meints' appeal as being untimely. Typically, a party seeking to appeal from a judgment, decree, or final order made by the district court must file a notice of
The Court of Appeals' minute entry suggests that it did not consider whether the May 1, 2014, order was conditional and, thus, not a final order. Orders which specify that a trial court will exercise its jurisdiction based upon future action or inaction by a party are conditional and therefore not appealable.
Whether the May 1, 2014, order was conditional depends upon its specific wording. Contrary to the State's assertion at oral argument, the order did not state that the appeal was dismissed "period." The May 1 order stated that the case was dismissed, but the same sentence qualified the dismissal by adding that it was "subject to being reinstated" if, within 14 days, Meints filed a motion for reinstatement and set the motion for hearing. Thus, the "subject to" phrase expressly modified the purported dismissal.
This order differs from other conditional orders we have addressed which first state that if a specified action is not taken within a set amount of time, then the case will stand dismissed.
We conclude that the May 1, 2014, order did not finally and conclusively dismiss Meints' appeal; rather, the order was conditional, because under its terms, the dismissal was not effective if a motion for reinstatement was filed within 14 days. And because it was conditional, the May 1 order was not a final, appealable order.
This conclusion flows from the particular words used in the May 1, 2014, order. Had the order simply stated that the appeal was "dismissed as of this date," it would have been final and appealable. But in this context, the word "subject" means "[d]ependent on ... some contingency."
The May 30, 2014, order would have been final, but it was never entered. The content of the docket entry was not conditional; it expressly denied Meints' motion for reinstatement.
But the docket entry for that date was neither signed nor file stamped. Rendition of a judgment is the act of the
The May 30, 2014, docket entry was not a final order, because it was neither signed by the judge nor file stamped and dated by the clerk. Both counsel conceded as much at oral argument. Thus, for different reasons, neither the May 1 nor the May 30 order was final and appealable.
The July 25, 2014, order was a final, appealable order. In this order, the district court noted that it had "signed the Order (Of Dismissal)" on April 30 and that it had been filed on May 1. By this language, the court confirmed the dismissal, but without any condition. And the July 25 order expressly overruled Meints' motion for reconsideration. The three types of final orders which may be reviewed on appeal under the provisions of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1902 (Reissue 2008) are (1) an order which affects a substantial right in an action and which in effect determines the action and prevents a judgment, (2) an order affecting a substantial right made during a special proceeding, and (3) an order affecting a substantial right made on summary application in an action after a judgment is rendered.
Meints timely appealed from the July 25, 2014, order. Ordinarily, the deadline for appeal would have been August 24, but because that day fell on a Sunday, Meints' notice of appeal filed on August 25 was timely.
Because Meints filed his notice of appeal within 30 days of the district court's final order, we conclude that the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing his appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We therefore reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand the cause to that court with direction to reinstate Meints' appeal. We recognize that at the time of the Court of Appeals' dismissal, the parties had not yet filed appellate briefs. Thus, the court will need to establish a briefing schedule on the merits.
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTION.