Opinion ID: 510645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 5 We consider initially whether we are deprived of jurisdiction because Dowling's appeal was taken from the order granting defendants summary judgment although the counterclaim of two defendants and their third-party claim were still outstanding. The order granting summary judgment was not final because it did not dispose of all the claims between the original parties. Even had the order done so, and hence been final in the traditional sense of finality, the concept embodied in Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) of an action as a single judicial unit would have precluded appeal until all other outstanding claims were determined. See Shirey v. Bensalem Township, 663 F.2d 472, 474-75 (3d Cir.1981). 6 However, within a week from the filing of Dowling's notice of appeal, all outstanding claims were disposed of. In Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co., 459 U.S. 56, 61, 103 S.Ct. 400, 403, 74 L.Ed.2d 225 (1982) (per curiam), the Court held that a notice of appeal filed prior to the disposition of a post-trial motion made pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59 is a nullity. We have interpreted the Supreme Court's decision as affecting only those cases involving the post-trial motions specifically enumerated in Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4), i.e., motions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b), 52(b), and 59. See Cape May Greene, Inc. v. Warren, 698 F.2d 179, 185 (3d Cir.1983). Thus, this case does not present a Griggs situation. 7 This court has held that a premature appeal taken from an order which is not final but which is followed by an order that is final may be regarded as an appeal from the final order in the absence of a showing of prejudice to the other party. Richerson v. Jones, 551 F.2d 918, 922 (3d Cir.1977) (emphasis in original). We have followed that practice even after Griggs. See Cape May Greene, 698 F.2d at 185; see also Presinzano v. Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., 726 F.2d 105 (3d Cir.1984) (holding, as one of two alternate bases for jurisdiction, that a subsequent ruling on plaintiff's claim under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794, cured a premature notice of appeal taken from the court's entry of summary judgment under section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 793); Knight v. Brown Transport Corp., 806 F.2d 479, 483-84 (3d Cir.1986) (district court's dismissal of last remaining claim, a loss of consortium claim asserted against defendant by plaintiff's wife, cured premature notice of appeal). 8 Our precedent directs us to inquire whether there will be any prejudice to the appellees if we take jurisdiction from a premature notice of appeal. See Richerson v. Jones, 551 F.2d at 923. In this case the dangling claims were disposed of by the district court within a week of Dowling's notice of appeal. We see no possibility of any prejudice. Under these circumstances and pursuant to our precedent, we conclude that we may take jurisdiction notwithstanding that the notice of appeal was from an order that did not become appealable until shortly after the filing of the notice of appeal. 2