Opinion ID: 690481
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denial of summary judgment on Cyanamid's counterclaim for fraudulent inducement

Text: 43 Mylan next maintains that the district court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment on Cyanamid's fraudulent inducement counterclaim. Despite the fact that the jury awarded no damages on this counterclaim, Mylan claims that it was prejudiced on its other claims by evidence that was admitted solely to establish fraudulent inducement. If summary judgment had been granted before trial, Mylan maintains, this evidence would have been excluded. Thus, Mylan is in the unusual posture of appealing a count on which it prevailed at trial. 44 Nearly every circuit to consider the issue has held that the denial of a motion for summary judgment may not be appealed following a final verdict on the merits. See, e.g., Watson v. Amedco Steel, Inc., 29 F.3d 274 (7th Cir.1994); Black v. J.I. Case Co., 22 F.3d 568, 570-71 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 579 (1994); Johnson Int'l Co. v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 19 F.3d 431, 434 (8th Cir.1994); Lama v. Borras, 16 F.3d 473, 476 n. 5 (1st Cir.1994); Locricchio v. Legal Servs. Corp., 833 F.2d 1352, 1358 (9th Cir.1987). Because denial of summary judgment is interlocutory, O'Connor v. United States, 956 F.2d 48, 52 (4th Cir.1992), the only appealable final judgment is the judgment on the verdict. Johnson Int'l, 19 F.3d at 434. 45 Thus, Mylan seeks to appeal a verdict in its favor. A party generally may not appeal an issue on which it prevailed on the merits. Deposit Guaranty National Bank v. Roper, 445 U.S. 326, 333 (1980). While an exception exists permitting a party to appeal an adverse ruling collateral to judgment on the merits if that party retains a stake in the controversy, id. at 333-34, a summary judgment motion is not collateral to the merits of a claim. Therefore Mylan's appeal does not fall within this exception, and we may not review the district court's denial of summary judgment. J. Other errors 46 Mylan asserts that the district court committed four additional errors warranting reversal. First, it claims that the court improperly excluded evidence that Mylan blew the whistle on fraudulent prac tices by other manufacturers of generics. Second, it claims that the court erred in allowing Cyanamid's expert to testify as to analyses that he performed after he was deposed. Third, it maintains that the order of closing arguments was improper. Finally, it asserts that the court erred in excluding testimony about Puskar's charitable contributions. We find that none of these actions was error and affirm on the reasoning of the district court. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. American Cyanamid Co., Civ. No. 90-0121-C(S) (N.D.W. Va. Feb. 28, 1994). 47 K. Jury verdict on Mylan's Counts II and III 48 Finally, Mylan claims that the verdicts on its two counts for breach of the best efforts provision were against the weight of the evidence. Judging the weight of the evidence is a matter resting within [the district court's] sound discretion and is not reviewable save in the most exceptional circumstances. Poynter v. Ratcliff, 874 F.2d 219, 223 (4th Cir.1989). Here, plenty of evidence indicated that Cyanamid did not breach the best efforts provision, including evidence that (1) Cyanamid strongly promoted Maxzide, (2) Maxzide's market loss was no greater than that of other brand-name drugs faced with generic competition, and (3) independent reasons existed for Maxzide's decline, including weak patent protection, changes in medical thinking, and FDA actions. The district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant a new trial.