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Cunningham v. Hamilton County

Supreme Court of the United States · 1999 · Civil Procedure

Civil ProcedureAppellate JurisdictionFinal Judgment RuleCollateral Order DoctrineDiscovery Sanctions28 U.S.C. § 1291final decisioncollateral order doctrine

Facts

Petitioner, an attorney, represented the plaintiff in a federal civil rights action. During discovery, despite a Magistrate Judge's order requiring full and complete responses and setting deposition conditions, petitioner failed to produce requested documents, gave incomplete interrogatory responses, objected to others, noticed a deposition on the wrong date, and moved to compel depositions contrary to the court's order. The Magistrate Judge found her conduct violated the discovery order and was egregious, and under Rule 37(a)(4) ordered her to pay $1,494 in costs and fees to Hamilton County. The District Court affirmed the sanctions order and also disqualified petitioner as counsel, but the underlying case remained pending.

Issue

Whether an order imposing sanctions on an attorney under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(4) is a final decision appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 before final judgment in the underlying case. More specifically, the question was whether such an order falls within the collateral order doctrine, including when the attorney no longer represents a party in the case.

Rule

A Rule 37(a)(4) sanctions order against an attorney is not a final decision under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and is not immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine. Such an order is not sufficiently separate from the merits and is not effectively unreviewable on appeal from final judgment, and the result does not change because the attorney has ceased representing a party.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In a federal products-liability suit pending in Denver, defense counsel Nora Patel repeatedly served incomplete document responses despite a magistrate judge's order requiring full production. The district court affirmed a Rule 37(a)(4) order requiring Nora personally to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees, but the underlying suit is still headed to trial.

May Nora immediately appeal the sanctions order under 28 U.S.C. § 1291?

Explanation. The order is not immediately appealable. Under the majority rule, a Rule 37(a)(4) sanctions order against an attorney is not a final decision under § 1291 because it does not end the litigation on the merits or leave nothing for the court to do but execute judgment. It also does not qualify as a collateral order merely because the sanction is imposed on counsel personally.