Explained: Harkins v. Westmeyer

By Arend J. Abel, Cohen & Malad LLP

A December 10 decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals held that the three-day extension for service by mail does not apply if a court order sets a deadline that runs from the date of its order. In Harkins v. Westmeyer, the court explained that the rule only applies where a deadline runs from “service” of a paper or “notice” of an order that is served by mail. In Harkins, the deadline was set to run “from the date of this order,” so the extension did not apply. The decision stands as an important reminder that counsel (or pro se parties, as in Harkins) should not assume a deadline benefits from the three-day extension simply because the paper setting the deadline is received by mail.

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