Opinion
DA 23-0315
06-20-2023
ON SIXTH AVENUE, LLC, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. CLAYTON WAYNE RAMSEY, Defendant and Appellant.
ORDER
Self-represented Appellant Clayton Wayne Ramsey has filed a Petition for an Out-of-Time Appeal, indicating that he improperly filed a timely Notice of Appeal only with the District Court and that he failed to file the Notice of Appeal. Ramsey includes copies of the September 27, 2022 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law; Interlocutory Order after the non-jury trial as well as the October 18, 2022 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law; Final Judgment, following the damages hearing in the Justice Court of Record, Civil Division, of Yellowstone County, Montana.
M. R. App. P. 4(6) allows this Court to grant an out-of-time appeal "[i]n the infrequent harsh case and under extraordinary circumstances amounting to a gross miscarriage of justice[.]"
At the outset, Ramsey's Petition is not verified; there is no notarial signature or stamp. M. R. App. P. 4(6). Ramsey, however, mentions his confusion about the process and his extraordinary circumstances. Ramsey refers to a Yellowstone County District Court Cause Number (DV-22-1116) in his Petition, but he does not provide a final judgment from the District Court, only the Justice Court.
We secured a copy of the Register of Actions from the Yellowstone County District Court. On April 3,2023, the District Court issued an Order Denying Appeal and Affirming Justice Court Orders. The court also denied Ramsey's motion for rehearing on April 27, 2023. We conclude that Ramsey is entitled to this out-of-time appeal. Therefore,
IT IS ORDERED that Ramsey's Petition for an Out-of-Time Appeal is GRANTED and that the Clerk of the Supreme Court may file his submitted Notice of Appeal and other pleadings.
The Clerk is also directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to Clayton Wayne Ramsey personally.