Also known as: final decrees · final judgment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court's conclusive ruling that resolves all issues in a case and leaves nothing for further judicial action. It triggers preclusion doctrines, permits enforcement, and starts appeal clocks in most jurisdictions.
Flora Ford was acquitted of robbing one victim when identity was the sole contested issue. The state later tried her for robbing a second victim in the same incident. The final decree of acquittal precluded the second prosecution because the jury had already resolved the shared factual question against the government.
Faye Fuller removed a contract suit to federal court. Thirty-five days later the plaintiff moved to remand for a procedural defect in the notice. The district court denied the motion because the request came after the thirty-day window that runs from removal and before any final decree had been entered.
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Felix Franco sued Fairfield Bank for $75,000 on a note. After default the clerk entered judgment for $125,000 plus an injunction. The court vacated the excess because a default judgment cannot exceed the amount or differ in kind from the relief demanded in the pleadings.
Francois Fortier was convicted of murdering his aunt after a full trial. In the later probate proceeding his cousin offered the conviction to bar Fortier from taking under the will. The final judgment of conviction conclusively established him as the slayer under the preponderance standard applicable in the civil case.
Faith Fitzgerald was convicted of felony securities fraud after a jury trial. In a later civil suit the plaintiff offered the conviction to prove the essential facts of the scheme. The court admitted the final judgment because it met the requirements for a felony conviction entered after trial.
Frontier Capital moved to dismiss on grounds of sovereign immunity. The district court denied the motion. Frontier immediately appealed even though no final decree had yet been entered in the underlying action because the denial satisfied the three conditions of the collateral order doctrine.
A decree becomes final once it resolves the ultimate facts after a full adjudication and all appeal rights have been exhausted or waived. The resulting judgment then bars relitigation of those facts in later proceedings between the same parties.
No. The statute permits remand at any time before final judgment if subject-matter jurisdiction is lacking. Once a final decree is entered the case is no longer removable and the jurisdictional defect must be raised by other means such as direct appeal.
Yes. Rule 60(b) supplies limited grounds for relief from a final judgment even after the time to appeal has expired, provided the motion is made within a reasonable time and not more than one year for certain grounds.
A final judgment of conviction for the felonious and intentional killing conclusively establishes slayer status in the civil case. The civil court applies the preponderance standard but need not retry facts already determined beyond a reasonable doubt.
…Corp. v. Heitner , 361 A. 2d 225, 235-236 (1976). Thus, if the judgment below were considered not to be an appealable final judgment, 28 U. S. C. § 1257 (2), appellants would have the choice of suffering a default judgment or entering a general appearance and defending on the merits. This case is in the same posture as…