Opinion ID: 604138
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Bhatla appeal

Text: 14 As noted above, in its June 22, 1992 memorandum and order, the district court dismissed the remaining claims against the U.S. Capital Corporate Defendants (except for First Capital) without prejudice because those defendants had filed for bankruptcy. Thus the purchasers, as they acknowledged at oral argument, are free to seek relief from the automatic stay and pursue their claims against those defendants. Accordingly, the June 22 order from which the purchasers have appealed is not final, and we lack jurisdiction over the Bhatla appeal. 6 28 U.S.C. § 1291; see Maritime Elec. Co. v. United Jersey Bank, 959 F.2d 1194, 1208-09 (3d Cir.1992); Robison v. Canterbury Village, Inc., 848 F.2d 424, 426 (3d Cir.1988); see also Willhelm v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 927 F.2d 971, 972-73 (7th Cir.1991) (relying on Robison to find lack of appellate jurisdiction under facts similar to those here). 15 Nevertheless, the purchasers urge us to apply a practical, rather than technical, approach to determine finality. See Gillespie v. United States Steel Corp., 379 U.S. 148, 85 S.Ct. 308, 13 L.Ed.2d 199 (1964). However, without passing on the continued vitality of Gillespie, see In re Kelly, 876 F.2d 14, 15 (3d Cir.1989) (noting that at best Gillespie has limited viability), we note that a practical approach to finality compels our result. In Welch v. Folsom, 925 F.2d 666, 668 (3d Cir.1991), we observed that exceptions to the finality requirement allowing appeals following a dismissal without prejudice are allowed when there is no risk of multiple litigation, such as when a plaintiff's remaining claim is time barred, see Green v. Humphrey Elevator & Truck Co., 816 F.2d 877, 878 n. 4 (3d Cir.1987), or when a complaint filed by a plaintiff granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis is dismissed without prejudice for failure to effect service of process because then we can assume that plaintiff cannot afford to pay for private service to cure the defect. See Welch, 925 F.2d at 668. However, this is not such a case, for the purchasers may seek to have the automatic stay lifted and repursue their claims. As it stands now, the Bhatla case has the potential to lead to piecemeal appeals. We, therefore, lack jurisdiction and will dismiss the Bhatla appeal.