Sara Eigen Figal, a former faculty member at Vanderbilt University, appealed the dismissal of her breach of contract and misrepresentation lawsuit regarding her denied tenure. The trial court granted summary judgment to Vanderbilt on April 3, 2012, and denied Figal's motion to alter or amend the judgment on May 29, 2012. Figal filed her notice of appeal on June 29, 2012, which was beyond the thirty-day limit set by Tenn. R. App. P. 4. The court determined that the order denying her motion complied with the service requirements of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 58, making it effective on May 29, 2012. Figal's argument that the order lacked a proper certificate of service was rejected, leading to the dismissal of her appeal due to the untimely filing of her notice of appeal. The court upheld the trial court’s decision, emphasizing the adherence to procedural rules.
Failure to comply with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 58 renders a judgment or order ineffective, as established in Mangrum v. Collazo–Torres. The timeframe for filing a notice of appeal begins with the effective entry of the order denying a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59 motion. The May 29, 2012 order, which bore the trial judge's signature and a 'cc' notation for counsel, did not include the signatures of the parties or their counsel, necessitating a certificate of service under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 58. Dr. Figal argued that the 'cc' notation was insufficient for compliance but did not dispute actual service. The court referenced DeLong v. Vanderbilt Univ., which confirmed that the 'cc' notation meets the notification requirement of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 58, and declined to overturn that precedent. It was further asserted that the lack of a service date was not grounds for invalidating the order. The order was deemed effectively entered on May 29, 2012, and the deadline for filing a notice of appeal expired on June 28, 2012. Dr. Figal's notice filed on June 29, 2012, was therefore untimely, resulting in the court's lack of jurisdiction to hear the appeal, which was dismissed. Costs were assessed to Sara Eigen Figal, with execution permitted if necessary.
