Posts in category “Weekly Roundup”
There’s little to report from last week. The First Circuit granted rehearing in a decision that cut back on the relation forward of notices of appeal. But the new decision avoided the jurisdictional issue because the merits were straightforward. And a divided Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity, with the majority and dissent disagreeing over what facts must be taken as true for purposes of the appeal.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on the finality of denied requests to reopen benefits decisions for railroad workers. The Tenth Circuit joined every other circuit in holding that it could not review a remand order when post-removal joinder destroyed diversity jurisdiction. The Eighth Circuit allowed an appellant to cure a finality problem—during oral argument—by converting a voluntary dismissal to one with prejudice. Two courts dismissed qualified-immunity appeals in which the defendants challenged the factual basis for the immunity denial. The Seventh Circuit treated a petition for permission to appeal as a notice of appeal. And the Supreme Court denied cert in a case that raised some interesting questions about mandamus.
After several quiet weeks in the world of federal appellate jurisdiction, things picked up. The First Circuit became the fourth court to recently endorse a limited scope of remand appeals under § 1447(d), although the Supreme Court might have more to say on this issue soon. The Sixth Circuit created a split on the jurisdictionality of bankruptcy’s appeal deadline, holding that the part-statute, part-rule deadline is a non-jurisdictional claim-processing rule. The Fifth Circuit will rehear en banc its decision from this summer on the courts of appeals’ exclusive jurisdiction to review SEC proceedings. The Fifth Circuit also applied its unique approach to appeals in § 1782 proceedings, though it used some seemingly non-categorical collateral-order reasoning. And the Sixth Circuit said that a late notice of appeal should be treated as a motion to extend the appeal deadline. Plus two decisions on cumulative finality and another on pendent appellate jurisdiction in a qualified-immunity appeal.
Last week saw two decisions of note. The Ninth Circuit suggested that plaintiffs can reinstate claims that they had voluntarily dismissed in a failed attempt to manufacture an appeal. And the Tenth Circuit held that criminal defendants cannot immediately appeal from orders deeming them competent to stand trial.
After a couple slow weeks in the world of federal appellate jurisdiction, things have picked up. A new cert petition asks the Supreme Court to address appeals after appellants voluntarily dismiss some of their claims with prejudice. The D.C. Circuit divided over when—if ever—a conditional dismissal becomes final and appealable without a subsequent district court order. Another D.C. Circuit decision rejected both parties’ arguments that the partial dismissal of a habeas petition was final and appealable. Plus decisions on injunction appeals and contempt appeals.
Last week was relatively uneventful in the world of federal appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court granted cert on the scope of remand appeals when an exception to § 1447(d) applies, an issue I’ve been following for a while. Beyond that, there’s not much to report. A divided Tenth Circuit discussed the propriety of hearing a § 1292(b) appeal. The Third Circuit addressed its jurisdiction over a case that touched on patent issues. And the Fifth Circuit discussed applying the collateral-order doctrine in Administrative Procedure Act cases.
Last week, the Fifth Circuit issued a new opinion in Edwards v. 4JLJ, L.L.C. and treated the standard 30-day civil-appeal deadline as jurisdictional. The previous opinion in Edwards—which held that the deadline was not jurisdictional—baffled me a few weeks ago.
In other news, the First Circuit dealt with a judgment that was neither final nor a judgment. The Second Circuit addressed its pendent appellate jurisdiction in an appeal from an injunction. The Third Circuit avoided answering whether the IRS’s presence in an action—which was due to the IRS’s holding a tax lien against one defendant—triggered the 60-day civil appeal deadline. It could do so because the district court had failed to enter a separate Rule 58 judgment, meaning the parties had lots of time to appeal. And in a copyright suit against Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the Fifth Circuit held that the plaintiff’s lawyer could not appeal a sanction award because his name did not appear on the notice of appeal.
Last week saw several qualified-immunity appeals, most of which were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Beyond that, the week was relatively uneventful. The Eleventh Circuit heard an appeal from a voluntarily dismissed claim, as the district court had made an interlocutory decision that required the voluntary dismissal. The Seventh Circuit treated bankruptcy’s 14-day appeal deadline as jurisdictional, following that circuit’s caselaw on the issue. And the Third Circuit excused the failure to designate a decision on attorneys’ fees in a notice of appeal.
Last week saw what I think is the first opinion on the timeliness of an appeal from a pre-Hall judgment. The Sixth Circuit held that a Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law is required to file a renewed motion under Rule 50(b). The Sixth Circuit also addressed its jurisdiction to review the denial of summary judgment on a probable-cause issue after the case had gone to trial. Plus the Second Circuit heard an immediate appeal involving an attorney’s lien.
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