2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 25. Civil Procedure › Chapter 21. Rules of Appellate Procedure › Part 1. Rules › Rule 6. Application of these rules

Rule 6. Application of these rules.
(1) What a court may review upon appeal from a judgment. A party may appeal from a final judgment in an action or special proceeding and from those final orders specified in sections (2), (3), and (4) of this rule. Upon appeal from a final judgment entered in an action or special proceeding in a district court, this court may review the judgment, as well as all previous orders and rulings excepted or objected to which led to and resulted in the judgment.
(2) Orders appealable in criminal cases. In criminal cases, the parties are directed to the provisions of sections 46-20-103 and -104.
(3) Orders appealable in civil cases. In civil cases, an aggrieved party may appeal from the following, provided that the order is the court's final decision on the referenced matter:
(a) From an order made after final judgment, including an order vacating or refusing to vacate a default judgment, and an order granting or denying a motion for new trial or to alter or amend a judgment;
(b) From a "deemed denied" motion that was made pursuant to M. R. Civ. P. 50(b), 52(b), 59, or 60(b);
(c) From an order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction;
(d) From an order permitting or refusing to permit an action to be maintained as a class action, or an order finally and definitively rejecting a proposed class action settlement;
(e) From an order granting or dissolving, or refusing to grant or dissolve, an injunction or an attachment;
(f) From an order granting or denying a motion to change venue on the basis that the county designated in the complaint is not the proper county;
(g) From an order appointing or refusing to appoint a receiver, or giving directions with respect to a receivership, or refusing to vacate an order appointing or affecting a receiver;
(h) From an order directing the delivery, transfer, or surrender of property;
(i) From an order in a partition action directing or refusing to direct a partition to be made;
(j) From a contempt judgment or order in a family law proceeding when, and only when, the judgment or order appealed from includes an ancillary order entered as a result of the contemptuous conduct which affects the substantial rights of the parties involved; and
(k) From an order granting or denying a motion for substitution of judge.
(4) Orders appealable in estate, guardianship, and probate matters. In estate, guardianship, and probate matters, the following orders are considered final and must be appealed immediately, and failure to do so will result in waiver of the right to appeal:
(a) An order granting or refusing to grant, or revoking or refusing to revoke, letters testamentary or of administration or guardianship;
(b) An order admitting or refusing to admit a will to probate, in favor of or against the validity of a will, or revoking or refusing to revoke the probate thereof;
(c) An order setting apart or refusing to set apart property or an order making or refusing to make an allowance for a surviving spouse or child;
(d) An order directing or refusing to direct the partition, sale, or conveyance of real property;
(e) An order refusing, allowing, or directing the distribution of any estate or part thereof, or the payment of a debt, claim, legacy, or distributive share;
(f) An order settling an account of an executor, administrator, or guardian; and
(g) An order confirming or refusing to confirm a report of an appraiser setting apart a homestead.
(5) Orders and judgments that are not appealable. Although not exhaustive, the following judgments and orders are among those that are not appealable:
(a) In cases involving multiple parties or multiple claims for relief, an order or judgment which adjudicates fewer than all claims as to all parties, and which leaves matters in the litigation undetermined; subject, however, to the provisions of section (6) of this rule;
(b) Orders denying motions for summary judgment or motions to dismiss, or granting partial summary judgment;
(c) In proceedings regarding abused or neglected children, orders granting temporary investigative authority and/or protective services, and orders of temporary custody;
(d) Judgments or orders made in cases of civil or criminal contempt, except as provided in section (3)(j) of this rule and section 3-1-523;
(e) Orders granting or denying sanctions; and
(f) Interlocutory judgments, except as provided in sections (3)(j) and (6) of this rule.
(6) Certification of a judgment as final for purposes of appeal. Notwithstanding the provisions of section (5)(a) of this rule, a district court may direct the entry of final judgment as to an otherwise interlocutory order or judgment, only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay, pursuant to M. R. Civ. P. 54(b). In so doing, the district court must balance the competing factors present in the case to determine if it is in the interest of sound judicial administration and public policy to certify the judgment as final, and the court shall, in accordance with existing case law, articulate in its certification order the factors upon which it relied in granting certification, to facilitate prompt and effective review. A certification order failing to meet these requirements shall be subject to summary dismissal pursuant to rule 4(4)(b).
History: En. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, July 3, 2007, eff. October 1, 2007; amd. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0016, April 26, 2011, eff. October 1, 2011; amd. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0110, November 29, 2011.