Penwell

In this case appellees’ first act after receipt of a purported notice of appeal was to claim in their reply brief that this court is without jurisdiction to entertain it. At the same time, they filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. Petitioners filed an opposition citing two irrelevant cases not mentioned in the petition for rehearing. They also moved to substitute in the notice of appeal the names of the petitioners for that of the dead collector. Their more comprehensive petition for rehearing has lead to this opinion, deemed our opinion on our order dismissing the appeal.

The grounds stated for the motion to dismiss are (a) the appeal had not been taken by any party to the suit as required by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 73(a), 28 U.S.C.A., providing that “a party may appeal from a judgment by filing with the district court a notice of appeal,” and (b) that the notice of appeal does not specify the parties taking the appeal as required by Rule 73(b), providing “The notice of appeal shall specify the parties taking the appeal”.

The purported appellants concede that neither requirement of Rule 73 was satisfied, the notice having been filed by Lewis Penwell,…