Opinion ID: 1744606
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Timeliness of Appeal as to Defendant State Farm.

Text: By the time Davis served notice of appeal from the court's dismissal of his suit against Blue Cross and the YMCA, the defendant State Farm had been out of the case for about two and one-half years, the court having dismissed the suit against them under State Farm's motion for summary judgment. Davis did not appeal this ruling within thirty days but waited until his suits against Blue Cross and the YMCA were dismissed and then filed notice of appeal as to all defendants, including State Farm. State Farm now contends that Davis's appeal of the two-year-old dismissal was untimely. Davis responds that delayed appeals such as this are expressly permitted by Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 5(b) when an order disposes of an action as to less than all of the parties. Rule 5(b) provides: Notwithstanding [the mandatory thirty-day time for appeal], an order disposing of an action as to fewer than all of the parties to the suit, even if their interests are severable, or finally disposing of fewer than all the issues in the suit, even if the issues are severable, may be appealed within the time for an appeal from the order, judgment, or decree finally disposing of the action as to remaining parties or issues. Rule 5(b) controls the issue in this case. Dismissal on State Farm's motion for summary judgment could properly be appealed within the time permitted to appeal from the order disposing of the rest of the case. That is what happened here.