Appealable Orders

A stay order entered by a district court is appealable as a final judgment under 28 USC 1291 if it effectively places the plaintiff out of court.  An indefinite stay to be ended only upon the occurrence of an external event that is not time delimited.  If the stay lasts 18 months or longer, the stay is not automatically appealable,… Read More

Although a stipulated judgment is generally not appealable, appeal is allowed when  “consent was merely given to facilitate an appeal following adverse determination of a critical issue.”  An “adverse determination” of “a critical issue” is not an affirmative requirement or limitation on the doctrine.  The only limitation is that the judgment must dispose of all causes of action.  The stipulated… Read More

Under 28 USC 1292(a)(3), a federal court of appeals has jurisdiction over appeals from a district court's interlocutory decree determining the rights and liabilities of the parties to the admiralty cases in which appeals from final decrees are allowed.  This decision holds that the provision allows an interlocutory appeal from an order denying summary judgment based on the waiver the… Read More

A district court order was immediately appealable insofar as it prohibited the defendant employer from communicating with workers about this opt-in FLSA action or soliciting them not to join the action, but not insofar as it voided the agreements that the employer had solicited from workers releasing FLSA claims or agreeing not to join the action.  The appealable portion of… Read More

An order allowing a plaintiff to withdraw from arbitration under CCP 1281.98(b) because the defendant has not timely paid arbitration fees is appealable because it overrides the earlier court order compelling arbitration and operates effectively as a denial of the motion to compel. Read More

Under CCP 904.1(a)(12), a monetary sanctions award of $5,000 or more is immediately appealable.  However, an order for an issue sanction on a discovery motion is not immediately appealable.  Even when the order awards both monetary and issue sanctions, the issue sanctions portion of the order is not appealable unless the two sanctions are intimately intertwined. (See Mileikowsky v. Tenet… Read More

An order compelling arbitration is not a final judgment entitled to res judicata or collateral estoppel effect because it cannot be appealed until after judgment is entered confirming the arbitration award. Read More

A group of plaintiffs represented by law firm A filed a parallel putative class action to one filed by law firm B.  B's suit was allowed to proceed.  A's was stayed.  When notice of a tentative settlement of B's suit was sent, A sent a letter to class members urging them to opt out.  B obtained court orders sending corrective… Read More

The district court dismissed plaintiff's complaint without prejudice, acknowledging that amendment might not be futile.  Nevertheless, the district court did not grant leave to amend and entered judgment the same day against plaintiff.  This decision holds that, viewing the record as a whole, the district court intended to end the case, making its dismissal order final and appealable even though… Read More

An order denying a nonstatutory motion to vacate judgment is appealable if the appellant claimed that the judgment was void. Read More

A presiding judge's order denying a request by a vexatious litigant, who is subject to a pre-filing order, leave to file a new lawsuit is not an appealable order. Read More

Following Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC (2020) 140 S.Ct. 582, this decision holds that an order denying relief from the automatic stay is immediately appealable so long as it finally resolves the issue of whether the movant is entitled to relief from stay on the basis on which relief was sought, even if the denial is without prejudice… Read More

Distinguishing Microsoft Corp. v. Baker (2017) 137 S.Ct. 1702, Langere v. Verizon Wireless Services, LLC (9th Cir. 2020) 983 F.3d 1115, and Sperring v. LLR, Inc. (9th Cir. 2021) 995 F.3d 680, which involved voluntary dismissals in order to appeal from class certification orders or orders compelling arbitration, as to which Rule 23(f) or 9 USC 16 prescribe different appellate… Read More

The automatic stay on appeal prevents the trial court from entering a voluntary dismissal of the action while the case is on appeal from an interlocutory order (such as here, an order denying an Anti-SLAPP motion) because dismissal of the case would affect the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction over the appeal.  Furthermore, even if it were otherwise effective, a voluntary… Read More

An "order" that dismisses or denies a petition for a writ of administrative mandamus is a final, appealable judgment if it leaves nothing to be resolved other than compliance with the order--even though the order is labeled "order," not "judgment."  The deadline for appealing the decision runs from service of notice of entry of such an order, not from the… Read More

For a federal Court of Appeals to have jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal under 28 USC 1292(b), the district court must first find that (a) there is a controlling question of law, (b) there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion on that question, and (c) immediate resolution of the question would materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation. … Read More

Following Judge v. Nijjar Realty, Inc. (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 619 and disagreeing with Maplebear, Inc. v. Busick (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th 394, this decision holds that an arbitrator's preliminary injunction order is not an "award" and is not reviewable by a California trial court under CCP 1294, and the trial court's order dismissing a petition to vacate the arbitrator's preliminary injunction… Read More

Ordinarily, an order on a motion for an attorney fee award is appealable as a post-judgment order under CCP 904.1(a)(2).  But here, to maintain the trial court's jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, the parties agreed that judgment would not be entered dismissing the action until after defendant had paid the settlement amount and any attorney fees awarded by the… Read More