Posts in category “Appellate Decisions”
In Donahue v. Federal National Mortgage Association, the First Circuit held that the subsequent dismissal of a remaining defendant did not save a premature notice of appeal. The plaintiff in Donahue filed her notice after the district court had dismissed her claims against one of two defendants. So the notice of appeal was premature and technically ineffective.…
Continue reading....Update, December 8, 2020: The Eleventh Circuit has ordered rehearing en banc in this case. See Rehearing En Banc Granted in State-Action Antitrust Appeal for more.
In SmileDirectClub, LLC v. Battle, the Eleventh Circuit heard an interlocutory appeal from the denial of state-action (or “Parker”) immunity. A circuit split exists on whether state-action appeals are available under the collateral-order doctrine.…
Continue reading....The Bivens question asks whether an implied constitutional remedy exists for a federal official’s unconstitutional conduct. The Supreme Court has held that this question is within the scope of a qualified-immunity appeal. That is, in an interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity, the court of appeals can address whether a Bivens remedy exists.…
Continue reading....In Hermosillo v. Davey Tree Surgery Co., a divided Ninth Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction to review a decision ordering class-wide arbitration over a request for individual arbitration. Under the Federal Arbitration Act, district court decisions ordering arbitration generally are not appealable. Decisions denying requests for arbitration generally are.…
Continue reading....In Corley v. Long-Lewis, Inc., the Eleventh Circuit held that a district court’s resolution of all claims was final and appealable despite the plaintiffs’ voluntarily dismissing some of those claims without prejudice. In doing so, the court had to wade through its conflicting lines of authority in this area—one holding that the resolution of all claims is final despite the voluntary dismissal, the other holding that it’s not.…
Continue reading....In Hicks v. Ferreya, the Fourth Circuit refused to address the Bivens question in an interlocutory qualified-immunity appeal. The Bivens question—which asks whether an implied constitutional cause of action exists for a federal official’s alleged violation of the plaintiff’s rights—is normally appealable alongside the denial of qualified immunity. But the defendants in Hicks failed to raise the issue in the district court.…
Continue reading....In Strange v. Islamic Republic of Iran, the D.C. Circuit held that district courts cannot “recertify” an order and thereby restart the ten-day window for seeking permission to appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). The district court in Strange had rejected the plaintiffs’ efforts to serve process on former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai via Twitter.…
Continue reading....Another court of appeals has weighed in on the scope of remand appeals. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d) generally prohibits appellate review of orders remanding an action to state court. But it includes two express exceptions: when an action is removed under the federal-officer or civil-rights removal statutes. Recent climate-change litigation has required the courts of appeals to address the scope of remand appeals when one of those exceptions applies.…
Continue reading....The Fifth Circuit’s finality trap has another victim. In Firefighters’ Retirement System v. Citco Group Ltd., the court held that the district court had not issued a final, appealable decision when claims against one defendant had been dismissed without prejudice. To appeal, the plaintiffs needed to obtain a certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) (and will presumably be allowed to do so).…
Continue reading....Qualified immunity makes it especially—and unjustifiably—difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in civil-rights suits. And the special appellate procedures that accompany qualified immunity ensure that litigating those suits will be complicated, expensive, and time consuming. Defendants have a right to appeal from the denial of immunity. That right—standing alone—is an immense procedural hurdle for plaintiffs.…
Continue reading....Final Decisions PLLC is an appellate boutique and consultancy that focuses on federal appellate jurisdiction. We partner with lawyers facing appellate-jurisdiction issues, working as consultants or co-counsel to achieve positive outcomes on appeal. Contact us to learn how we can work together.
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