Opinion ID: 719727
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appellate Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Text: 5 A federal court of appeals generally only has jurisdiction to hear appeals from those final decisions of the district courts that terminate an action. 28 U.S.C. § 1291. In some cases, however, the courts of appeals may hear appeals prior to the termination of an action. See, e.g., 28 U.S.C. § 1292. The Supreme Court, in Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 1225-26, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949), clarified that the courts of appeals also have jurisdiction under § 1291 to hear appeals from that small class of district court orders that finally determine claims of right separable from, and collateral to, rights asserted in the action, too important to be denied review and too independent of the cause itself to require that appellate consideration be deferred until the whole case is adjudicated. 6 The district court's memorandum and order is not a final decision that terminates the plaintiffs' action against the defendants, Cohen, 337 U.S. at 545-46, 69 S.Ct. at 1225-26, nor are we granted jurisdiction to hear an appeal from that order under any of the statutory exceptions, see 28 U.S.C. § 1292. Nonetheless, we have jurisdiction to hear an immediate appeal from the portion of the district court's order that denies the Thruway Authority's Eleventh Amendment claim of immunity because it falls squarely within Cohen 's collateral order exception. Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139, 144, 113 S.Ct. 684, 687, 121 L.Ed.2d 605 (1993); Komlosi v. New York State Office of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities, 64 F.3d 810, 815 (2d Cir.1995). 7 Furthermore, we also have jurisdiction to hear the Thruway Authority's argument that it is immune from the state law causes of action under New York law. In Napolitano v. Flynn, 949 F.2d 617, 621 (2d Cir.1991), we held that we had jurisdiction to hear the appeal of several police officers who contended that they were immune from the plaintiff's state law causes of action under the Vermont law doctrine of qualified immunity. We reasoned that because the state law claim of qualified immunity, like its federal counterpart, was not simply a defense to substantive liability, but was an immunity from suit, it fell within the Cohen exception. Id. Here, the Thruway Authority argues that the Mancusos may not sue it because they failed to serve a copy of the complaint on the New York Attorney General, as required by § 11(a) of the New York Court of Claims Act. We find that we have jurisdiction to hear this argument because it is both separate from the merits of the plaintiff[s'] action and, if meritorious, would entitle the Thruway Authority not to be subject to suit. Napolitano, 949 F.2d at 621; see Finnerty v. New York State Thruway Auth., 75 N.Y.2d 721, 722-23, 551 N.Y.S.2d 188, 550 N.E.2d 441 (1989); see also Blue v. Koren, 72 F.3d 1075, 1080 n. 1 (2d Cir.1995) (order denying qualified immunity defense as a matter of law immediately appealable); Rodriguez v. Phillips, 66 F.3d 470, 475 (2d Cir.1995) (same); Hill v. City of New York, 45 F.3d 653, 659-60 (2d Cir.1995) (same). 8 We do not have jurisdiction, however, over the Thruway Authority's other defenses or limitations under state law to the Mancusos' action that (1) the Thruway Authority cannot be liable for punitive damages, (2) it may not be subject to an injunction, and (3) it cannot be subject to trial by jury. Although these arguments may be separate from the merits of this action, the district court's failure to grant the Thruway Authority's motion for summary judgment on any of these grounds is not a decision that is effectively unreviewable if an appeal has to await a final judgment. Napolitano, 949 F.2d at 621. If the district court fails to uphold these defenses in favor of the Thruway Authority and is in error in doing so, the district court's decision is eminently reviewable: we will be able to order a bench trial or to strike that part of a judgment ordering an injunction or awarding punitive damages. If review occurs in the normal course, no unremediable harm will befall the Thruway Authority. Accordingly, we do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate these defenses under the collateral order doctrine. 9 The Thruway Authority contends that we still may reach these issues under the doctrine of pendent appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court, however, has recently made clear that pendent appellate jurisdiction should be exercised sparingly, if ever, by the courts of appeals. In Swint v. Chambers County Commission, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 1203, 131 L.Ed.2d 60 (1995), the plaintiff brought suit against a county under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the county sought summary judgment on the ground that none of the individuals involved was a policy maker and hence the county was not liable under Monell v. New York City Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2037, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). The district court denied the county's motion, but the Eleventh Circuit, exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction, reversed. The Supreme Court vacated the Eleventh Circuit's decision on the ground that the court of appeals lacked jurisdiction over the county's claim. Swint, --- U.S. at ---- - ----, 115 S.Ct. at 1208-12. Although the Court refused to decide when, if ever, pendent appellate jurisdiction is appropriate, it did state that there was no jurisdiction in Swint because the county's claim was not inextricably intertwined with the other issues, nor was it necessary to ensure meaningful review of those issues. Id. at ----, 115 S.Ct. at 1212. In this case, the Thruway Authority's additional state law defenses are neither inextricably intertwined with, nor necessary to the resolution of, its immunity claims. Therefore, we refuse to exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction over those issues.