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San Juan 1990-A2/19/2002
accessible" has until the end of the next day in which to file the paper. Id. (emphasis added). Plaintiffs contend that the "multiple filings" policy made the office of the clerk "inaccessible" within the meaning of the rule after 3:00 p.m. on February 21.
Under the circumstances of this case, we cannot agree. The problem in this case was not that the clerk's office was inaccessible; it was that counsel thought it was closed and did not investigate to determine if that was the case. However, the clerk's office was open during normal business hours and the clerks were being flexible about the multiple filing policy. In addition, as the district court pointed out, counsel could have filed the notices of appeal by going to the courthouse and asking a judge to file them in open court or by filing them by fax.
We emphasize that this was not a situation in which the clerk's office either gave counsel incorrect information or refused to file the notices of appeal during normal business hours based on the multiple filing policy. Under such circumstances, we might well have found that the clerk's office was inaccessible within the meaning of the rule or that the failure to file the notices of appeal was a court-caused error. See Ennis v. Kmart Corp., 2001-NMCA-068, 2-12, 130 N.M. 838, 33 P.3d 32 (holding that a complaint was filed within the statute of limitations even though the court clerk's office had refused to file it on that day because it was not in the proper form). However, in this case counsel received information from a third party that led her to believe that the clerk's office was closed. Counsel did not check the information with the clerk or use any of the alternative methods available for filing the notices of appeal. This is not a court-caused error or a circumstance beyond counsel's control.
Finally, Plaintiffs argue that the federal courts would excuse the late filing under the "unique circumstances" doctrine. We recognize that federal opinions are sometimes persuasive concerning the interpretation of the rules of civil procedure. Eskew v. Nat'l Farmers Union Ins. Co., 2000-NMCA-093, 6, 129 N.M. 667, 11 P.3d 1229 ("`Cases decided under the federal rule . . . are often persuasive to this Court if they are not in conflict with controlling New Mexico authority and are based on sound logic and policies consistent with the law of this state,'" (quoting Gallegos v. Southwest Cmty. Health Servs., 117 N.M. 481, 489, 872 P.2d 899, 907 (Ct. App. 1994)). However, we normally consider federal opinions only if there is no New Mexico law on the issue. Id. In this case, there are several New Mexico opinions that deal with this issue. None of those opinions cite to or discuss federal cases. Accordingly, we will not consider the federal cases cited by Plaintiffs.
In summary, we hold that the January 22 judgment was a final order for purposes of appeal, even though a later order was filed that resolved an outstanding dispute about a discovery matter. We further hold that the circumstances surrounding the late filing of the notices of appeal do not establish the kind of court-caused error or circumstances beyond the control of counsel that would excuse a late filing. Therefore, we DISMISS the appeals.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
WE CONCUR:
CYNTHIA A. FRY, Judge
CELIA FOY CASTILLO, Judge
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