Opinion ID: 1310362
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: The State contends we do not have jurisdiction because the appeal of the partial summary judgment is not a final, appealable order. For an appellate court to acquire jurisdiction of an appeal, there must be a final order entered by the court from which the appeal is taken. Conversely, an appellate court is without jurisdiction to entertain appeals from nonfinal orders. Charles Vrana & Son Constr. v. State, 255 Neb. 845, 587 N.W.2d 543 (1998). An order is final if it affects a substantial right and (1) determines the action and prevents a judgment, (2) is made during a special proceeding, or (3) is made on summary application in an action after judgment is rendered. Charles Vrana & Son Constr. v. State, supra ; O'Connor v. Kaufman, 255 Neb. 120, 582 N.W.2d 350 (1998). An order which effects a dismissal with respect to one of multiple defendants in a negligence action is a final, appealable order as to the party dismissed. Tess v. Lawyers Title Ins. Corp., 251 Neb. 501, 557 N.W.2d 696 (1997); Green v. Village of Terrytown, 188 Neb. 840, 199 N.W.2d 610 (1972). In the instant case, the granting of the City's motion for summary judgment dismissed the appellants' case against it. Thus, the order granting the City's motion for summary judgment is a final, appealable order even though there are issues left to be determined in the case that affect other parties. However, this leaves the question as to whether the partial summary judgment order granted to the State is a final, appealable order. It is well settled that a partial summary judgment proceeding is not a special proceeding under part two of the above test. Charles Vrana & Son Constr. v. State, supra . For example, in Charles Vrana & Son Constr., Vrana contracted with the Nebraska Department of Roads to perform a construction project and subsequently brought an action alleging that he was owed money from the State under the contract. The State counterclaimed, alleging that Vrana owed it money pursuant to both a liquidated damage provision and a disincentive provision in the contract. The district court granted Vrana's motion for partial summary judgment regarding the amount the State alleged Vrana owed under the disincentive provision, and the State appealed. We noted that the partial summary judgment proceeding was not made on summary application after judgment was rendered and that it did not determine the action and prevent a judgment because the order disposed of only one of the State's counterclaims and none of Vrana's claims. We also restated the rule that a partial summary judgment is not a special proceeding. In reaching our decision in Charles Vrana & Son Constr., we quoted language from O'Connor v. Kaufman, supra , stating that partial summary judgment `merely resolves one or several of the issues involved in the entire action or the main case.' 255 Neb. at 848, 587 N.W.2d at 546. Although it is clear from Charles Vrana & Son Constr. that partial summary judgment is not a special proceeding, Charles Vrana & Son Constr. does not stand for the proposition that an order granting partial summary judgment is never a final, appealable order. Rather, we have stated on several occasions, including a recently decided case, that where multiple causes of action are alleged, an entry of judgment on one cause of action is a final, appealable order with respect to that cause of action, despite the pendency of other causes of action in the same suit. Fackler v. Genetzky, 257 Neb. 130, 595 N.W.2d 884 (1999); Fitzke v. City of Hastings, 255 Neb. 46, 582 N.W.2d 301 (1998). The distinguishing factor between these cases and Charles Vrana & Son Constr. v. State, 255 Neb. 845, 587 N.W.2d 543 (1998), is that in Charles Vrana & Son Constr., a distinct cause of action was not dismissed. Therefore, it was necessary in Charles Vrana & Son Constr. to consider whether the partial summary judgment was a special proceeding. However, when a distinct cause of action is dismissed, the order is final under the first part of the test as an order that affects a substantial right in an action and in effect determines the action and prevents a judgment. Thus, if the partial summary judgment order in the instant case acted to enter judgment on a distinct cause of action, we have jurisdiction to consider the partial summary judgment order on appeal. However, if the partial summary judgment acted to dismiss only a theory of recovery, there is not a final, appealable order. A cause of action consists of the fact or facts which give one a right to judicial relief against another; a theory of recovery is not itself a cause of action. Lewis v. Craig, 236 Neb. 602, 463 N.W.2d 318 (1990). Thus, two or more claims in a petition arising out of the same operative facts and involving the same parties constitute separate legal theories, either of liability or damages, and not separate causes of action. Id. Whether more than one cause of action is stated depends mainly upon (1) whether more than one primary right or subject of controversy is presented, (2) whether recovery on one ground would bar recovery on the other, (3) whether the same evidence would support the different counts, and (4) whether separate actions could be maintained for separate relief. Fackler v. Genetzky, supra ; Fitzke v. City of Hastings, supra . In the instant case, the appellants pled one cause of action that shared a common set of facts and sought the same relief from the County and the appellees. Essentially, the appellants pled a variety of circumstances that allegedly acted to cause damage to their properties, the combined effect of which they alleged was a taking of their properties. Thus, the effect of the granting of the State's motion for partial summary judgment was not to dismiss a separate and distinct cause of action. Rather, it prevented the appellants from seeking recovery from the State for any damages caused by the construction of the subdivision, which was simply one factual element or alternate theory of damages pled in the appellants' single cause of action. Accordingly, the order granting the State's motion for partial summary judgment did not have the effect of dismissing a separate and distinct cause of action and is not a final, appealable order. Of further interest, but not directly applicable in this case is Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-705(6) (Cum.Supp.1998), effective July 15, 1998. Section 25-705(6) is the same as Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) and provides: When more than one claim for relief is presented in an action, whether as a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, or when multiple parties are involved, the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment. In the absence of such determination and direction, any order or other form of decision, however designated, which adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties shall not terminate the action as to any of the claims or parties, and the order or other form of decision is subject to revision at any time before the entry of judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties. Although § 25-705(6) does not affect the instant case because the order appealed from was entered before the effective date of the statute, the statute simplifies the issue and clears up many of the questions regarding final orders when there are multiple parties and claims.