Also known as: final appealable judgments · final judgment · appealable order
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court's conclusive resolution of the rights and obligations of the parties in a case. The resolution must end the litigation on the merits so that an appeal may be taken.
Forrest Falconer was acquitted of robbing one victim when identity was the sole contested issue at trial. The state then charged him with robbing a second victim during the same incident. The acquittal constitutes a final appealable judgment that precludes the second prosecution under collateral estoppel principles.
Fiona Foster removed a state-court contract action to federal court. The district court discovered it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and entered an order remanding the case. Because the remand occurred before any final appealable judgment, the order is not reviewable on appeal.
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Freya Freeman sued Fabian Flynn for breach of contract and demanded $50,000 in damages. After Flynn defaulted, the court entered judgment for $75,000 plus an injunction. The judgment violates Rule 54(c) because it exceeds the kind and amount of relief demanded in the pleadings.
Faye Fuller was convicted after trial of intentionally killing her uncle. In the later probate proceeding, the court treated the conviction as conclusively establishing that Fuller is the decedent's slayer. The criminal judgment qualifies as a final appealable judgment that binds the civil case under the preponderance standard.
Floyd Franklin was convicted after a guilty plea of felony theft. In a subsequent civil suit, the victim offered the conviction to prove that Franklin took the property. The conviction is a final appealable judgment admissible under the hearsay exception because it meets all four statutory requirements.
Flagship Logistics moved to dismiss on grounds of sovereign immunity. The district court denied the motion. The denial satisfies the three conditions of the collateral order doctrine and therefore constitutes a final appealable judgment even though the underlying action remains pending.
A final appealable judgment conclusively resolves the rights and obligations of the parties and ends the litigation on the merits. Orders that leave additional claims or parties unresolved are ordinarily not final unless the court expressly directs entry of judgment under Rule 54(b).
A judgment remains final and appealable once entered even if an appeal is pending. The pendency of an appeal may be shown but does not suspend finality for purposes of collateral estoppel or the hearsay exception for prior convictions.
Any judgment entered without subject-matter jurisdiction is void and may be collaterally attacked. The case must be remanded if the defect is discovered before final judgment, and the remand order itself is generally not appealable.
An interlocutory order is immediately appealable if it conclusively determines a disputed question, resolves an important issue separate from the merits, and would be effectively unreviewable after final judgment. Denial of sovereign immunity is a classic example that satisfies all three conditions.
…circumstances no warrant for reversal. In California v. Stewart , No. 584, I would dismiss the writ of certiorari for want of a final judgment, 28 U. S. C. § 1257 (3) (1964 ed.); but if the merits are to be reached I would affirm on the ground that the State failed to fulfill its burden, in the absence of a showing that…