Opinion ID: 2745634
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the district court‘s dismissal is

Text: A FINAL, APPEALABLE ORDER ¶ 10 The State argues that ―[t]here may be a question whether the [c]ourt has jurisdiction to hear [AWBM‘s] claims,‖ and contends that the order below may not be a final order subject to appeal. ―[T]he issue of subject matter jurisdiction is a threshold issue, which can be raised at any time and must be addressed before [turning to] the merits of other claims . . . .‖11 We have consistently upheld the ―final judgment‖ rule, which states that ―[a]n appeal is improper if it is taken from an order or judgment that is not final.‖12 A ―final judgment for purposes of appeal is 9 Thomas v. Lewis, 2001 UT 49, ¶ 13, 26 P.3d 217. 10 Bradbury v. Valencia, 2000 UT 50, ¶ 8, 5 P.3d 649. 11 Houghton v. Dep’t of Health, 2005 UT 63, ¶ 16, 125 P.3d 860 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also State v. Sun Sur. Ins. Co., 2004 UT 74, ¶ 7, 99 P.3d 818 (―Questions of subject matter jurisdiction, because they are threshold issues, may be raised at any time and are addressed before resolving other claims.‖). 12Bradbury v. Valencia, 2000 UT 50, ¶ 9, 5 P.3d 649. There are exceptions to the ―final judgment‖ rule; however, none of the (con‘t.) 5 AMERICA WEST v. STATE ACJ NEHRING, opinion of the Court except as to Part II.B one that resolves all claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, and third-party claims before the court and fully and finally resolves the case.‖13 ¶ 11 ―Utah has adopted the majority rule that an order of dismissal is a final adjudication, and thereafter, a plaintiff may not file an amended complaint,‖14 even if such a dismissal is without prejudice.15 This rule is rooted in the United States Supreme Court decision United States v. Wallace & Tiernan Co.16 There, the Court found that dismissal ―without prejudice to filing another suit does not make the cause unappealable, for denial of relief and dismissal of the case ended [the] suit so far as the District Court was concerned.‖17 Our general rule in determining whether an order is final is ―whether the effect of the ruling is to finally resolve the issues.‖18 We do not focus on whether a dismissal was with or without prejudice, because the ―test to be applied is a pragmatic test.‖19 exceptions are relevant to the present case. Therefore, we focus only on whether this dismissal is final under the final judgment rule. 13 Merkey v. Solera Networks, Inc., 2009 UT App 130U, para. 4 (per curiam); see also Bradbury, 2000 UT 50, ¶ 10 (―To be final, the trial court‘s order or judgment must dispose of all parties and claims to an action.‖). 14 Nichols v. State, 554 P.2d 231, 232 (Utah 1976). 15 See Steiner v. State, 495 P.2d 809, 810–11 (Utah 1972) (holding that a dismissal involving two defendants was a final appealable order despite one defendant being dismissed without prejudice while the other was dismissed with prejudice). 16 336 U.S. 793 (1949). 17 Id. at 794 n.1; see also Ciralsky v. CIA, 355 F.3d 661, 666 (D.C. Cir. 2004) (―Most courts that have considered the question have followed the Supreme Court‘s lead, holding that the dismissal of an action—whether with or without prejudice—is final and appealable.‖). 18 Bowles v. State ex rel. Utah Dep’t of Transp., 652 P.2d 1345, 1346 (Utah 1982). 19First of Denver Mortg. Investors v. C. N. Zundel & Assocs., 600 P.2d 521, 528 (Utah 1979) (citing Brown Shoe Co. v. United States, (con‘t.) 6 Cite as: 2014 UT 49 ACJ NEHRING, opinion of the Court except as to Part II.B ¶ 12 In the present case, there are no counterclaims, crossclaims, or third-party claims. The district court determined it did not have an adequately pleaded complaint before it and dismissed the complaint, thereby ending the suit as far as the district court was concerned.20 The pragmatic effect of the dismissal was to fully terminate the case in the district court. Because we follow the majority rule that an order of dismissal is a final adjudication, and because our test for finality is a pragmatic one, we conclude that we have jurisdiction to hear this appeal.