APPEAL AS OF RIGHT - WHEN TAKEN

(a) Appeal and Cross-Appeals in Civil and Criminal Cases. Except as provided in Rules 4(d) and 4(e), in a civil or criminal case in which an appeal or cross-appeal is permitted by law as of right from a trial court to the Supreme Court, the notice of appeal required by Rule 3 shall be filed with the clerk of the trial court within 30 days after the date of entry of the judgment or order appealed from. If a notice of appeal is mistakenly filed in the Supreme Court, the clerk of the Supreme Court shall note on it the date on which it was received and transmit it to the clerk of the trial court and it shall be deemed filed in the trial court on the date so noted. (b) Notice Before Entry of Judgment. A notice of appeal filed after the announcement of a decision or order but before the entry of the judgment or order shall be treated as filed after such entry and on the day of the entry. (c) Notice by Another Party. If a timely notice of appeal is filed by a party, any other party may file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the date on which the first notice of appeal was filed, or within the time otherwise prescribed by this rule, whichever period last expires. (d) Post-trial Motions in Civil Cases. If any party files a timely motion of a type specified immediately below the time for appeal for all parties runs from the entry of the order disposing of the last such motion outstanding. This provision applies to a timely motion under the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure (1) for judgment under Rule 50(b); (2) under Rule 52(b) to amend or make additional findings of facts, whether or not granting the motion would alter the judgment; (3) under Rule 59 to alter or amend the judgment; (4) under Rule 59 for a new trial; or (5) for relief under Rule 60 if the motion is filed no later than 10 days after the entry of judgment. A notice of appeal filed after announcement or entry of the judgment but before disposition of any of the above motions is ineffective to appeal from the judgment or order, or part thereof, specified in the notice of appeal, until the entry of the order disposing of the last such motion outstanding. Notwithstanding the provisions of Appellate Rule 3(c), a valid notice of appeal is effective to appeal from an order disposing of any of the above motions. (e) Post-trial Motions in Criminal Cases. If a defendant makes a timely motion (1) for judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the verdict of the jury, or (2) for a new trial under MRCrP 25.1, the time for appeal for all parties shall run from the entry of the order denying such motion. Notwithstanding anything in this rule to the contrary, in criminal cases the 30 day period shall run from the date of the denial of any motion contemplated by this subparagraph, or from the date of imposition of sentence, whichever occurs later. A notice of appeal filed after the court announces a decision, sentence, or order but before it disposes of any of the above motions, is ineffective until the date of the entry of the order disposing of the last such motion outstanding, or until the date of the entry of the judgment of conviction, whichever is later. Notwithstanding the provisions of Appellate Rule 3(c), a valid notice of appeal is effective to appeal from an order disposing of any of the above motions. (f) Parties Under Disability. In the case of parties under a disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind, the various periods of time for which provision is made in this rule and within which periods of time action must be taken shall not begin to run until the date on which the disability of any such party shall have been removed. However, in cases where the appellant infant or person of unsound mind was a plaintiff or complainant, and in cases where such a person was a party defendant and there had been appointed for him or her a guardian ad litem, appeals to the Supreme Court shall be taken in the manner prescribed in this rule within two years of the entry of the judgment or order which would cause to commence the running of the 30 day time period for all other appellants as provided in this rule. (g) Extensions. The trial court may extend the time for filing a notice of appeal upon motion filed not later than 30 days after the expiration of the time otherwise prescribed by this rule. Any such motion which is filed before expiration of the prescribed time may be granted for good cause and may be ex parte unless the court otherwise requires. Notice of any such motion which is filed after expiration of the prescribed time shall be given to other parties, and the motion shall be granted only upon a showing of excusable neglect. No such extension shall exceed 30 days past such prescribed time or 10 days from the date of entry of the order granting the motion, whichever occurs later. (h) Reopening Time for Appeal. The trial court, if it finds (a) that a party entitled to notice of the entry of a judgment or order did not receive such notice from the clerk or any party within 21 days of its entry and (b) that no party would be prejudiced, may, upon motion filed within 180 days of entry of the judgment or order or within 7 days of receipt of such notice, whichever is earlier, reopen the time for appeal for a period of 14 days from the date of entry of the order reopening the time for appeal. (i) Taxpayer Appeals. If the board of supervisors of any county, or the mayor and board of aldermen of any city, town or village, or any other board, commission or other officer of any county, or municipality, or district, sued in an official capacity, fails to file a notice of appeal under Rule 4(a) within 20 days after the date of entry of an adverse judgment or order, or within 7 days after filing of a notice by another party pursuant to Rule 4(c), any taxpayer of the county, municipality or district shall have the right at the taxpayer's own expense to employ private counsel to prosecute the appeal in compliance with these rules. If the governmental entity files a notice of appeal, the appeal shall not be dismissed if any such taxpayer objects and prosecutes the appeal at the taxpayer's own expense. [Amended effective July 1, 1997; July 1, 1998.] Advisory Committee Historical Note Effective April 29, 1998, Rules 4(d) and (e) were amended to provide that a notice of appeal filed before disposition of specified post trial motions becomes effective on disposition thereof and is effective to appeal said disposition. In addition, the list of specified motions was enlarged to include M.R.C.P. 60 motions filed within 10 days. 706-708 So.2d XLIV (West Miss.Cases 1998). Effective July 1, 1997, a new Rule 4(h) was added to provide for reopening of time for appeal in the event that a notice of entry of judgment is not received. The former Rule 4(h) was redesignated 4(i). 689-692 So. 2d LXII (West Miss. Cases 1997). Effective January 1, 1995, Miss.R.App.P. 4 replaced Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 4, embracing proceedings in the Court of Appeals. 644-647 So.2d XXVII-XXX (West Miss.Cases 1994). Effective July 1, 1994, the Comment to Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 4 was amended to delete references to repealed statutes and material concerning the transition from statutory procedures to Rule practice. 632-635 So. 2d V (West Miss.Cases 1994). Effective July 1, 1994, the Comment to Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 4 was amended to provide that the date of the entry of the judgment is the date the judgment is entered in the general docket of the clerk of court, and to delete an outdated case citation. 632-635 So.2d XLIV-XLV (West Miss.Cases 1994). [Adopted August 21, 1996; amended effective July 1, 1997; July 1, 1998.] Comment