Appeals involving an abandoned claim/amended complaint, denials of qualified immunity, sealing orders, administrative remands, PREP Act immunity, and more.
February 11, 2024
An especially busy January means I didn’t have a lot of time to post about decisions from last month. But there were still several worth talking about. Below is a brief roundup of what I found interesting.
A notice of appeal’s multiple functions, sanctions of unspecified attorney fees, and more.
January 5, 2024
The last month of 2023 produced several decisions of note. Two courts addressed whether a single filing could serve the dual functions of both a motion to reopen the appeal deadline and a notice of appeal. The courts of appeals have split on this issue, though both courts to address it last month held that a single notice of appeal could perform these multiple functions. Plus decisions on the finality of a sanction of unspecified attorney fees, a gag-order appeal in a criminal case, arbitration appeals involving substitute arbitrators, and more.
November saw further cut backs on Perlman appeals, a purported video-evidence exception for qualified-immunity appeals, a partial objection to an untimely criminal appeal, and more.
December 3, 2023
Last month’s major appellate-jurisdiction development involved another court narrowing the availability of Perlman appeals. In other decisions, the Fifth Circuit carved a new, video-evidence exception to the scope of qualified-immunity appeals. The Third Circuit addressed what to do with a partial objection to an untimely criminal appeal. The Ninth Circuit applied Dupree to part of a summary-judgment denial. And a Fourth Circuit panel stuck by the rule that the 30-day deadline for immigration appeals is jurisdictional, though a concurrence doubted that rule’s soundness. Plus an improper qualified-immunity appeal and two decisions on the scope of interlocutory appeals.
Abandoning claims to create finality, appealing PREP Act-immunity denials, Rule 54(b) partial judgments for counts and claims, and more.
November 2, 2023
Last month produced a wide variety of appellate-jurisdiction decisions. The Eleventh Circuit issued more opinions on whether and when claimants can voluntarily dismiss (or, in one case, “abandon”) claims to create a final decision. The Ninth Circuit held that defendants can appeal from the denial of PREP Act immunity. And the Eleventh Circuit addressed the meaning of claims (versus counts) in the context of Rule 54(b). Plus reviewing the summary-judgment standard in qualified-immunity appeals, the jurisdictionality of Rule 4(a)(4)(B)(ii), and much more—including a new cert petition on whether federal defendants can take pure Bivens appeals.
More Rule 3(c) drama, manufactured finality in bankruptcy, discovery appeals involving Speech-or-Debate Clause immunity, and more.
October 3, 2023
September saw more drama over Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c), as the Eleventh Circuit appeared to use Rule 3(c)(6) to revive the old practice of limiting the scope of an appeal to the designated order. The courts of appeals also addressed manufactured finality in the bankruptcy context, a discovery appeal implicating the Speech or Debate Clause, and the appealability of decisions on substituting counsel. Plus more judges questioning the appealability of anti-SLAPP motions, addressing preclusion as part of a qualified-immunity appeal, and a new cert petition on manufactured finality.
The scope of § 1292(b) appeals, manufactured finality from a summary-judgment denial, another duty-to-defend appeal, and more.
September 5, 2023
I spent most of August busy or sick or both. So there weren’t many posts about decisions. But the month was still full of interesting developments.
Lots of class-certification appeals, pendent appellate jurisdiction, and duty-to-defend appeals. Plus appeals from compassionate-release grants, conditional dismissals, and qualified-immunity denials; the requirements of Rule 4(a)(6); immigration exhaustion, and more.
August 1, 2023
July produced two opinions in Rule 23(f) appeals from class-certification decisions. One addressed whether a FLSA collective-action decision could tag along via pendent appellate jurisdiction, and the other thought that an appeal was proper due to the district court’s inadequate explanation. There were also some pendent appellate jurisdiction decisions involving sovereign immunity. And two courts held that duty-to-defend decisions were not appealable injunctions. Plus decisions on government appeals from compassionate-release grants, appeals from conditional dismissals, jurisdiction after an agreement to appeal, several improper qualified-immunity appeals, and much more.
Arbitration appeals, the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, appeal deadlines after bankruptcy stays, fact-based qualified-immunity appeals, and more.
July 6, 2023
June was arbitration-appeals month. In its third and last decision of the term relating to appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court held that district courts must stay proceedings on the merits pending an interlocutory arbitration appeal. In the courts of appeals, the Third Circuit reviewed the denial of a motion to dismiss that effectively sought arbitration. And the First Circuit dismissed an appeal from an order denying reconsideration of an arbitration denial.
In other decisions, two courts of appeals addressed some nuances of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Fourth Circuit explained what notice is required under Rule 4(a)(6). And the Fifth Circuit recognized the amendments to Rule 3(c). There were also decisions on a bankruptcy stay’s effect on the appeal deadline, fact-based qualified-immunity appeals, and the reasonableness of mistakes for Rule 4(a)(2). Plus a new cert grant, denials of cert on appealing church-autonomy defenses, and more.
Two Supreme Court decisions, Rule 41 dismissals of claims and actions, governmental-privilege appeals, and more.
June 6, 2023
May was quite a month for appellate jurisdiction.
We saw two Supreme Court decisions—one on preserving legal issues via denied summary-judgment motions, and one on the non-jurisdictionality of immigration exhaustion. And the government has agreed that cert is appropriate to address the reviewability of exceptional-hardship determinations in immigration appeals.
In the courts of appeals, there were significant decisions on the scope of Rule 41—does it apply only to entire actions or also to discrete claims?—and governmental-privilege appeals. But my favorite decision from last month was probably the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion on the interaction of two appeal-timing provisions: one for when the district court doesn’t set out the judgment in a separate document, and another for the resolution of post-judgment motions.
There were also decisions on pendent appellate jurisdiction over standing, appealing attorney-disqualification orders, Rule 3(c)’s order-designation requirement, the wisdom of the administrative-remand rule, and much more.
Manufactured finality, preservation via denied summary-judgment motions, the standards for (and scope of) class-certification appeals, appealing after dismissals with leave to refile, a slew of new cert petitions, and much more.
May 2, 2023
The two main events in April were probably the Sixth Circuit’s potential expansion of Microsoft Corp. v. Baker and oral argument in the Supreme Court case on preserving issues raised in denied summary-judgment motions.
But there were several other decisions of note. Two courts addressed class-certification appeals under Rule 23(f)—one explaining the standards for granting Rule 23(f) petitions and another holding that it can address standing in those appeals. There seems to be some new tension in the Third Circuit’s caselaw on how litigants can make a dismissal with leave to refile into a final decision. The Ninth Circuit treated the denial of arbitration as an appealable denial of an injunction. And the Eleventh Circuit addressed appellate standing and non-party appeals.
Plus several new cert petitions, the appealability of the Yearsley defense, and much more.