Opinion ID: 3020349
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the relationship between the adjudicated and

Text: unadjudicated claims; (2) the possibility that the need for review might or might not be mooted by future developments in the district court; (3) the possibility that the reviewing court might be obliged to consider the same issue a second time; (4) the presence or absence of a claim or counterclaim which could result in set-off against the judgment sought to be made final; (5) miscellaneous factors such as delay, economic and solvency considerations, shortening the time of trial, frivolity of competing claims, expense, and the like. Allis-Chalmers Corp., 521 F.2d at 364. Although the factors set forth in Allis-Chalmers are not jurisdictional prerequisites – but instead constitute “a prophylactic means of enabling the appellate court to ensure that immediate appeal will advance the purpose of the rule,” Carter v. City of Philadelphia, 181 F.3d 339, 345 (3d Cir. 1999) – the District Court’s original order did not contain any statement of reasons as to why there was no just cause for delay. Berckeley I, 259 F.3d at 145. We held that this omission, when combined with the other two omissions in the order and our inability to ascertain the propriety of the certification from the record, precluded us from exercising appellate jurisdiction over the merits of Colkitt’s appeal. We thus dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and remanded the case to the District Court. Id. at 146. 16 On remand, the District Court addressed each of the Allis-Chalmer Corp. factors to determine whether to enter a final judgment with respect to all claims between Berckeley and Colkitt. First, the District Court concluded that the adjudicated claims between Berckeley and Colkitt and the outstanding unadjudicated claims did not conflict because “the other pending claims may easily be resolved upon execution of the order of final judgment against Colkitt.” (App. VI at 5.) Second, the court stressed that the procedural posture of this case presented the possibility that immediate appellate review might actually moot the remaining proceedings in front of the District Court, which were wholly derivative of the claims on appeal. (Id.) Whether Shoreline will owe damages to Berckeley and whether Colkitt will be required to indemnify Shoreline depends upon Colkitt’s underlying liability to Berckeley and Colkitt’s ability, if applicable, to satisfy the judgment. Third, the District Court stated that it was unlikely that the remaining claims between Berckeley and Colkitt could be revisited a second time on appellate review because the remaining claims did not involve Berckeley and Colkitt. (Id. at 6.) Finally, the District Court mentioned two judicial economy considerations weighing in favor of certification: (1) depending upon the result on appeal, immediate appellate review could shorten the time for trial or eliminate the need for a trial altogether; and (2) any further delay in the lengthy proceedings could prejudice Berckeley’s ability to execute the judgment. (Id.) Colkitt has once again appealed the District Court’s certification decision on the basis that we lack appellate jurisdiction. Colkitt’s primary argument is that the District Court abused its discretion in certifying the judgment under 17 Rule 54(b) because the adjudicated claims are factually and legally intertwined with the non-adjudicated claims. A close review of the District Court’s September 2004 order, however, reveals that all of the defects in the original order certifying judgment have been remedied. The District Court’s decision rested upon pragmatic considerations, particularly the fact that a final appellate determination could moot the remaining derivative claims existing between the parties. Although the Allis-Chalmers Corp. analysis was framed by the converse scenario, i.e., in which appellate review might be mooted by further developments in the district court, the District Court’s evaluation of the procedural posture of this case was reasonable. The remaining claims in this case are wholly derivative of the claims between Berckeley and Colkitt, arising from separate agreements entered into between each of those parties and Shoreline. Practically, however, if the summary judgment decision of the District Court is upheld and Berckeley is able to execute on the full amount of the judgment, Shoreline’s indemnity claim against Colkitt would become moot and Berckeley would no longer be compelled to continue its claims against Shoreline. These considerations are amplified when we take into account the miscellaneous factors addressed by the District Court. This case has been litigated by the parties for nearly ten years, and it has been approximately six years since the District Court entered its summary judgment order. In addition, Colkitt’s shares of NMFS stock have experienced a steep decline over the past decade, to the point that they are practically worthless. Under these circumstances, it was reasonable for the District Court to take into consideration the 18 possibility that any further delays might impact Berckeley’s ability to execute on the judgment. See Curtiss-Wright Corp., 446 U.S. at 11-12 (finding that the difference between statutory and market interest rates, combined with the reality that the prevailing party would not be able to execute the judgment for many years due to the complexity of the litigation and the other party’s declining financial position, was an appropriate basis to certify the judgment under Rule 54(b)); see also Allis-Chalmers Corp., 521 F.2d at 367 (Gibbons, J., dissenting) (referencing as a factor the “ingenuity of debtors in devising reasons for not paying liquidated indebtedness”). Taking all of these factors into consideration – the possibility that our determination on appeal might moot the remaining claims, the derivative nature of the remaining claims, the length of the litigation, and the possibility that further delays might impair Berckeley’s ability to execute the judgment – we find that the decision of the District Court to certify the order as a partial final judgment was not “clearly unreasonable.” Curtiss-Wright Corp., 446 U.S. at 10. As a result, we conclude that we have appellate jurisdiction over the present appeal and proceed to address the merits of the dispute.