Also known as: interlocutory order
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An order entered by a court during the pendency of litigation that does not finally resolve the merits of the case or end the proceeding. Such orders remain subject to revision by the trial court and are generally reviewable only after entry of a final judgment.
Ira Irving sued former President Ines Ibarra for damages arising from official acts taken years earlier. The district court denied Ibarra's motion to dismiss on absolute immunity grounds. Ibarra immediately appealed the ruling before any discovery or trial occurred.
Iris Irons obtained a district court order temporarily halting pile driving at Ironclad Industries' site while allowing other work to proceed under restrictions. Ironclad Industries filed an immediate notice of appeal from that order.
Ian Iverson brought suit against former official Irene Ingalls alleging constitutional violations. The district court rejected Ingalls's claim of absolute immunity at the pleading stage. Ingalls noticed an appeal before any further proceedings took place.
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Ines Ibarra faced criminal charges and the government sought to administer antipsychotic medication against her will. The district court granted the order after a hearing. Ibarra appealed the ruling before trial began.
Ira Irving sued police officer Iris Irons under section 1983 for alleged excessive force. The district court denied the officer's motion to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds because of disputed facts. Irons filed an immediate appeal.
Inertia Dynamics sued Ideal Solutions in federal court while parallel state litigation was pending. The district court stayed the federal action pending resolution of the state case. Ideal Solutions immediately appealed the stay order.
An interlocutory order is immediately appealable if it conclusively determines the disputed question, resolves an important issue completely separate from the merits, and would be effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment.
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Section 1292(a)(1) authorizes immediate appeal from interlocutory orders granting, continuing, modifying, refusing, or dissolving injunctions, or refusing to dissolve or modify them.
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The final judgment rule limits appeals to orders that end the litigation on the merits, ensuring that review occurs only once and preventing piecemeal appeals that delay proceedings.
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Denial of a bond motion is immediately appealable only if it satisfies the three-part collateral order test, including that the right would be lost forever if review waited until final judgment.
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The Federal Circuit may review interlocutory orders in patent cases that would be appealable under section 1292 if entered by an ordinary district court, including those resolving ownership issues central to the litigation.
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…the "collateral order" doctrine of Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. , 337 U. S. 541 (1949), a small class of interlocutory orders are immediately appealable to the courts of appeals. As defined by Cohen , this class embraces orders that "conclusively determine the disputed question, resolve an important issue…