Supreme Court Okays Individual Appeals in Consolidated Cases

The Supreme Court recently held that when related cases have been consolidated under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a), a final decision in one of the cases makes that individual case immediately appealable by the losing party, even if the other case remains pending.

In this particular case, a family dispute gave rise to two separate lawsuits, which the trial court consolidated.  A final judgment was reached in one of the suits, but the other remained pending.  The losing family member in the former suit appealed, and the Third Circuit dismissed her appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that when two cases have been consolidated, a final decision on one set of claims is not appealable while the other set of claims is pending.

A unanimous Supreme Court disagreed.  It held that consolidation of cases under Rule 42(a) does not divest the cases of their individual character.  Consolidation does not merge the cases into one, but is instead designed to create more efficient case management.  The Supreme Court therefore reversed the decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and remanded the case to the Third Circuit to consider the merits of the appeal.

The case is Hall v. Hall, and the Supreme Court’s decision is available here.