Winslow v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Before: SENTELLE, Chief Judge, and GRIFFITH and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.

After losing his job as an attorney at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, John Winslow sued and prevailed on an age discrimination claim. The District Court awarded back pay; the court’s order did not include prejudgment interest. Several years later, Winslow moved for prejudgment interest, which he claimed was mandatory under the Back Pay Act. The District Court treated Winslow’s claim as a Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend the judgment. The problem for Winslow was that Rule 59(e) motions must be filed no later than 10 days after the entry of judgment. Therefore, the District Court denied Winslow’s motion as time-barred. Winslow now appeals, arguing that the motion is better categorized as a motion under Rule 60(a) to correct a clerical mistake or a motion under Rule 69 or 70 to enforce the judgment. Because those motions are not subject to time constraints, he asks us to reach the merits of his prejudgment interest argument. The Supreme Court has flatly stated, however, that motions for mandatory prejudgment interest are governed by Rule 59(e) and, therefore, by its 10-day filing requirement. See Osterneck v. Ernst & Whinney, 489 U.S. 169, 176-77 n.3 (1989). We therefore affirm the judgment of the District Court.