Opinion ID: 3179092
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pragmatic Finality

Text: The pragmatic finality doctrine—also referred to as the practical finality doctrine, the Gillespie doctrine, and the twilight zone doctrine—is an exception to the formal finality requirement of § 1291. The inquiry is whether “the danger of injustice by delaying appellate review outweighs the inconvenience and costs of piecemeal review.” United States v. Copar Pumice Co., 714 F.3d 1197, 1209 (10th Cir. 2013) (quotations 2 The State and the Pueblos agree the 2015 order is a final judgment. But “parties by consent cannot confer on federal courts subject-matter jurisdiction.” Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932, 1956 (2015). 3 Ms. Trujillo contends the interlocutory orders denying the motions to quash the 1983 injunction are reviewable because they merge with the 2015 order as a final judgment. First, Ms. Trujillo waived the argument because she raised it for the first time in her reply brief. See Stump v. Gates, 211 F.3d 527, 533 (10th Cir. 2000) (“This court does not ordinarily review issues raised for the first time in a reply brief.”). Second, the orders cannot merge into the 2015 order because it is not a final judgment. Finally, the orders are not otherwise reviewable because they were not appealed within 60 days of being entered. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B) (“The notice of appeal may be filed by any party within 60 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from if one of the parties is . . . the United States . . . .”). We therefore lack jurisdiction to review the orders. -13- omitted). We have been leery to apply the doctrine. See In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litig., 641 F.3d 470, 486 (10th Cir. 2011) (stating “we have questioned [the doctrine’s] continued viability for the last fifteen years”); Stubblefield v. Windsor Capital Grp., 74 F.3d 990, 996 (10th Cir. 1996) (stating “it is unclear whether the Gillespie doctrine is still viable”); Utah ex rel. Utah State Dep’t of Health v. Kennecott Corp., 14 F.3d 1489, 1495 (10th Cir. 1994) (“The doctrine has lived a checkered life in both our court and the United States Supreme Court.”). In Copar Pumice, we stated, “To the extent this doctrine is still recognized, it must be invoked only in truly unique instances, and not when the dispute can be adequately reviewed on appeal from a final judgment.”4 714 F.3d at 1209 (quotations omitted).
Ms. Trujillo contends the 2015 order creates a danger of injustice by depriving her of the right to use 3.0 AFY and to use underground water to irrigate a lawn, trees, and a vegetable garden. But she has failed to demonstrate an injustice that warrants immediate, piecemeal review before the entry of final judgment, which is scheduled to occur by 4 The doctrine has been most often applied in the administrative agency context “because agencies may be barred from seeking district court (and thus circuit court) review of their own administrative decisions.” Rekstad v. First Bank Sys., Inc., 238 F.3d 1259, 1262 (10th Cir. 2001) (quotations omitted). As a result, “if a district court remands an issue to an administrative agency and essentially instructs the agency to rule in favor of the plaintiff, the agency may well be foreclosed from again appealing the district court’s determination at any later stage of the proceeding.” Id. (quotations omitted). -14- September 2017. Ms. Trujillo has submitted no evidence she beneficially uses 3.0 AFY. And her permit has prohibited outdoor use for 31 years in compliance with the 1983 injunction. Her wish to use underground water for outdoor purposes in contravention of her longstanding permit does not create immediate jurisdiction. This is especially so given the context of this general stream adjudication. The 2015 order is subject to objections during the inter se stage and therefore open to alteration. Our precedent casts a wary eye on the pragmatic finality doctrine. If a “truly unique circumstance” exists to which the doctrine applies, this is not it.5 Copar Pumice, 714 F.3d at 1209 (quotations omitted).