Also known as: final-judgment rule · final judgment rules · finality rule · final order rule
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle that permits appeals only after a district court has entered a final decision ending the litigation on the merits. The rule requires that all claims and issues be resolved before appellate review may proceed. It prevents piecemeal appeals that would fragment cases and burden the courts.
After a train derailment, injured passengers Paula and Diego sued RailCo and several logistics companies. The district court approved a settlement and dismissed all claims against RailCo but left contribution and indemnity cross-claims among the logistics companies unresolved. RailCo filed a notice of appeal. Because claims remained pending in the same action, the final judgment rule barred the appeal until the district court resolved every claim.
Rhonda sued Officer Lewis under section 1983 for excessive force. The district court denied Lewis's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds because genuine issues of material fact existed. Lewis filed an immediate appeal. Under the final judgment rule the denial remained interlocutory and review had to await entry of a final judgment after trial.
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A television station broadcast the name of a rape victim obtained from public police records. The victim's family sued for invasion of privacy. The state supreme court rejected the station's First Amendment defense and remanded for trial. Because the state court had not yet entered a final judgment, the final judgment rule required the station to await completion of the trial before seeking Supreme Court review.
Mercury Construction sued Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital for breach of a construction contract containing an arbitration clause. The district court stayed the federal action pending resolution of a parallel state proceeding. Because the stay effectively placed Mercury out of federal court on the only issue in the case, the final judgment rule treated the order as appealable.
During discovery the district court sanctioned an attorney for repeated failures to produce documents. The sanctioned attorney no longer represented any party in the case. The attorney filed an immediate appeal. The final judgment rule required the attorney to await final judgment in the underlying action before seeking review.
Investors sued a corporation alleging securities fraud and moved for class certification. The district court denied certification. The investors sought immediate appeal. The final judgment rule barred the appeal because the denial did not end the litigation and could be reviewed after entry of final judgment on the individual claims.
A final decision ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the district court to do except execute the judgment. In multiparty or multiclaim cases an order resolving fewer than all claims or parties is not final unless the district court properly certifies a partial final judgment.
No. Fee and cost determinations are treated as collateral to the merits. A judgment that resolves all substantive claims remains final and appealable even if the district court has not yet decided a pending fee request.
An order that decides liability but leaves the amount of damages to be determined after further evidentiary proceedings is not final. The district court must still perform substantive work before the case ends, so the final judgment rule requires waiting for a complete judgment.
The order is not final unless the district court expressly determines there is no just reason for delay and directs entry of a partial final judgment. Without that certification the dismissed defendant must await resolution of the entire action before appealing.
…has noted that "[c]onsiderations of English usage as well as those of judicial policy" would justify an interpretation of the final-judgment rule to preclude review "where anything further remains to be determined by a State court, no matter how dissociated from the only federal issue that has finally been adjudicated by the highest…