Opinion ID: 181605
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appellate Jurisdiction: The Collateral Order Doctrine

Text: Godin objects that we lack appellate jurisdiction, arguing that the order denying application of Section 556 does not meet the requirements of the collateral order doctrine. The burden of establishing jurisdiction rests with the party who asserts its existence, here the three individual defendants. Campbell v. Gen. Dynamics Gov't Sys. Corp., 407 F.3d 546, 551 (1st Cir.2005). The collateral order doctrine allows courts to hear appeals from judgments that are not complete and final if they `fall in that small class which 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.' Nieves-Marquez v. Puerto Rico, 353 F.3d 108, 123 n. 13 (1st Cir.2003) (quoting Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949)). For the collateral order doctrine to apply, the interlocutory order must present: (1) a conclusive decision, (2) distinct from the merits of the action, (3) on an important issue, (4) which would effectively be unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. Awuah v. Coverall N. Am. Inc., 585 F.3d 479, 480 (1st Cir.2009); see also Will v. Hallock, 546 U.S. 345, 349, 126 S.Ct. 952, 163 L.Ed.2d 836 (2006). Three federal circuit decisions hold there is appellate jurisdiction over an order denying an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss, Hilton v. Hallmark Cards, 580 F.3d 874, 880 (9th Cir.2009), Henry, 566 F.3d at 181, and Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018, 1024-26 (9th Cir.2003), while one, also from the Ninth Circuit, holds to the contrary, see Englert v. MacDonell, 551 F.3d 1099 (9th Cir.2009). The issue here is narrower and concerned only with the immediate appealability of an order that a state anti-SLAPP statute does not apply at all to federal court proceedings due to Federal Rules 12 and 56. We defer to another day resolution of the question of whether an order addressed to the merits of a ruling under an anti-SLAPP statute is immediately appealable. We have appellate jurisdiction. First, the order conclusively decides that relief under Maine's Section 556 is unavailable to the individual defendants. The relevant inquiry for collateral order doctrine purposes is whether the order is conclusive as to the disputed question, not the action as a whole. Will, 546 U.S. at 349, 126 S.Ct. 952 (quoting Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139, 144, 113 S.Ct. 684, 121 L.Ed.2d 605 (1993)). Second, the issue of whether a defendant can utilize Section 556 in federal court is distinct from the merits of Godin's action. The legal issue before us is not so intertwined with factual issues as to make it highly unlikely to affect, or even be consequential to, anyone aside from the parties. Lee-Barnes v. Puerto Ven Quarry Corp., 513 F.3d 20, 26 (1st Cir. 2008). Third, this appeal raises an important issue of law because the issue raised is weightier than the societal interests advanced by the ordinary operation of final judgment principles. [6] Id. (quoting Gill v. Gulfstream Park Racing Ass'n Inc., 399 F.3d 391, 399 (1st Cir.2005)) (internal quotation marks omitted). The seminal Supreme Court case of Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corporation itself involved an interlocutory appeal from a district court's determination that a state statute was not applicable to a state-law claim brought in federal court. [7] 337 U.S. at 546, 69 S.Ct. 1221. The Cohen court permitted interlocutory review, and in so doing, carved out the collateral order doctrine. Likewise, the parallel question of whether this state anti-SLAPP statute applies to a state-law claim brought in federal court qualifies as too important to be denied review. Id. Finally, the order appealed from would be effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. It is relevant, but not conclusive, that the Maine Supreme Court's interpretation of Section 556 has led it to permit interlocutory appeals of orders denying special motions to dismiss in its own courts, because a failure to grant review of these decisions at this stage would impose additional litigation costs on defendants, the very harm the statute seeks to avoid, and would result in a loss of defendants' substantial rights. Schelling v. Lindell, 942 A.2d 1226, 1229-30 (Me.2008); see also Maietta Const., Inc. v. Wainwright, 847 A.2d 1169, 1173 (Me. 2004) (discussing purpose of Section 556). That is relevant not because state law determines the availability of appellate review hereit does notbut rather because lawmakers wanted to protect speakers from the trial itself rather than merely from liability. Batzel, 333 F.3d at 1025; see also Englert, 551 F.3d at 1107 (whether state anti-SLAPP statute provides for interlocutory appeals is significant to whether interlocutory appeals should be permitted in federal courts). [8] There is a crucial distinction between a right not to be tried and a right whose remedy requires the dismissal of charges. Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States, 489 U.S. 794, 801, 109 S.Ct. 1494, 103 L.Ed.2d 879 (1989) (quoting United States v. Hollywood Motor Car Co., 458 U.S. 263, 269, 102 S.Ct. 3081, 73 L.Ed.2d 754 (1982)) (internal quotation marks omitted). We conclude that the order at issue here involves an asserted right the legal and practical value of which would be destroyed if it were not vindicated before trial. Lauro Lines s.r.l. v. Chasser, 490 U.S. 495, 499, 109 S.Ct. 1976, 104 L.Ed.2d 548 (1989) (quoting Midland Asphalt Corp., 489 U.S. at 799, 109 S.Ct. 1494) (internal quotation mark omitted).