Opinion ID: 479187
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 26 Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c) states in part that [t]he notice of appeal shall specify the party or parties taking the appeal; shall designate the judgment, order or part thereof appealed from; and shall name the court to which the appeal is taken. Fed.R.App.P. 3(c). The initial issue which arises is whether this court has jurisdiction to consider Lynn's appeal of the summary judgment in favor of the Local when the notice of appeal names both the International and the Local, but cites only the judgment in favor of the International, and not the judgment in favor of the Local, as the subject of this appeal. 27 While some circuits construe Rule 3(c) strictly, see, e.g., Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Mestre, 701 F.2d 1365, 1373-75 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 893, 104 S.Ct. 239, 78 L.Ed.2d 230 (1983) (court will hear appeal of summary judgment, but not appeal of order to vacate injunction); C.A. May Marine Supply Co. v. Brunswick Corp., 649 F.2d 1049, 1055-56 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1125, 102 S.Ct. 974, 71 L.Ed.2d 112 (1981) (court will consider only denial of motion for new trial and not denial of request for attorney's fees), this circuit has held that a mistake in designating the judgment appealed from should not bar appeal as long as the intent to appeal a specific judgment can be fairly inferred and the appellee is not prejudiced by the mistake. United States v. One 1977 Mercedes Benz, 708 F.2d 444 (9th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1071, 104 S.Ct. 981, 79 L.Ed.2d 217 (1984); see also Munoz v. Small Business Administration, 644 F.2d 1361, 1364 (9th Cir.1981); United States v. Walker, 601 F.2d 1051, 1057-58 (9th Cir.1979). In determining whether intent and prejudice are present, we apply a two-part test: first, whether the affected party had notice of the issue on appeal; and, second, whether the affected party had an opportunity to fully brief the issue. 28 Here, as in Mercedes Benz, appellant served the affected party, the Local, with a copy of the brief in which he raised the issue of the Local's alleged failure to dispatch him for work. Further, the Local filed a joint brief with the International in which this issue was fully discussed. Thus, the Local had notice of the issue to be appealed, and did not suffer any prejudice from appellant's failure to include the summary judgment verdict for the Local in his notice of appeal. Therefore, we find that under the Mercedes Benz standard, we have jurisdiction to hear Lynn's appeal against the Local. 9