Opinion ID: 179747
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Challenge to Summary Judgment Denial

Text: In their cross-appeals, Bose and White argue that trial on Ji's right-to-publicity and privacy claims should never have taken place in the first instance. They argue that the district court should have granted their motions for summary judgment on what they contend was a pure legal issue: whether the Voucher or the Release controlled. If the Voucher was unenforceable, as they claim, then the Release controlled and through it Ji relinquished all rights to her images. We do not reach the merits of their argument because neither Bose nor White properly preserved it in a motion for judgment as a matter of law. [8] Generally, the denial of a motion for summary judgment is not reviewable after a full trial and final judgment on the merits. See, e.g., Eastern Mt. Platform Tennis, Inc. v. Sherwin-Williams Co., 40 F.3d 492, 500 (1st Cir.1994); Lama v. Borras, 16 F.3d 473, 477 n. 5 (1st Cir. 1994) (declining to address the defendants' challenge because their attack on the denial of summary judgment has been overtaken by subsequent events, namely, a full-dress trial and an adverse jury verdict.). The rationale for this rule has been based on the procedural fact that a denial of a motion for summary judgment `is merely a judge's determination that genuine issues of material fact exist. It is not a judgment, and does not foreclose trial on issues on which summary judgment was sought.' Sherwin-Williams, 40 F.3d at 500 (quoting Glaros v. H.H. Robertson Co., 797 F.2d 1564, 1573 (Fed.Cir.1986)). Thus, in order to preserve its challenge for appeal, a disappointed party must restate its objection in a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL). See id. at 497; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 50. If that too is unsuccessful, then the propriety of the district court's denial of JMOL is reviewable on appeal from final judgment. Sherwin-Williams, 40 F.3d at 497. We have not recognized an exception to this rule, as some circuits have done, when a party's challenge is based on a circumscribed legal error, as opposed to an error concerning the existence of fact issues. [9] Instead, our rule is that even legal errors cannot be reviewed unless the challenging party restates its objection in a motion for JMOL. See, e.g., Rivera-Torres v. Ortiz Velez, 341 F.3d 86, 92-93 (1st Cir.2003) (declining to review a party's challenge to the district court's denial of its motion for summary judgment based on a purported legal error concerning qualified immunity when that party failed to move for JMOL); Mauser v. Raytheon Co. Pension Plan for Salaried Employees, 239 F.3d 51, 55 (1st Cir.2001) (declining to review a party's challenge to the district court's denial of its motion for summary judgment based on a purported legal error concerning ERISA liability when that party failed to move for JMOL). Here, at the close of Ji's case, Bose moved for JMOL on the grounds that Ji failed to present sufficient evidence (1) to establish a violation of Chapter 93A, and (2) that she did not consent to Bose's use of her image (an element of both her right-to-publicity and privacy claims). White moved on the former ground only. Following the verdict, Bose orally renewed its motion for JMOL with regard to liability. [10] White did the same. But at no point did either Bose or White restate their challenge that the Voucher was unenforceable as a matter of law. Accordingly, we deem that challenge waived. [11]