Abuzeni v. Mutschler

926 N.W.2d 59
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 1, 2019
DocketA18-2097
StatusPublished

This text of 926 N.W.2d 59 (Abuzeni v. Mutschler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abuzeni v. Mutschler, 926 N.W.2d 59 (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

CLEARY, Chief Judge

In this appeal from the judgment entered on October 22, 2018, appellants seek review of a May 30, 2018 order that dismissed all of appellants' claims except the claim for an accounting. Subsequently, the parties filed a stipulation to dismiss the remaining claim for an accounting without prejudice to "facilitate entry of a final judgment and Plaintiffs' prompt appeal of the Court's May 30, 2018 Order." In an October 19, 2018 order, the district court dismissed the accounting claim without prejudice pursuant to the stipulation and directed entry of judgment. In the order, the district court noted the apparent inconsistency between caselaw disfavoring appeals of partial judgments and the parties' ability to obtain appellate review of what was previously a nonfinal judgment by stipulating to dismiss any remaining claims without prejudice.

We questioned whether the stipulation to dismiss the remaining accounting claim without prejudice constituted an improper attempt to create appellate jurisdiction over the May 30, 2018 nonfinal dismissal order. The parties filed informal memoranda. In their memorandum, appellants clarified that they do not intend to pursue the *61accounting claim after this appeal is resolved.

DECISION

The basic thrust of the rules governing the appellate process is that appeals should not be brought or considered piecemeal. Emme v. C.O.M.B., Inc. , 418 N.W.2d 176, 179 (Minn. 1988). The general rule that the whole case must be decided in a single appeal "preserves the proper balance between trial and appellate courts, minimizes the harassment and delay that would result from repeated interlocutory appeals, and promotes the efficient administration of justice." Microsoft Corp. v. Baker , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1702, 1712, 198 L.Ed.2d 132 (2017).

The district court may direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more, but fewer than all, of the claims if it determines that there is no just reason for delay. Minn. R. Civ. P. 54.02. An appeal may be taken from a final judgment or from a partial judgment entered pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. P. 54.02. Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 103.03(a).

" Rule 54.02 is intended to reduce piecemeal appeals by limiting appeals from judgments that resolve only part of the litigation," and to "liberalize the appellate process for parties who might be prejudiced by waiting to appeal a decision where other claims or liabilities are yet to be decided." T. A. Schifsky & Sons, Inc. v. Bahr Constr., LLC , 773 N.W.2d 783, 787 (Minn. 2009). The appellate courts apply an abuse-of-discretion standard of review to the district court's decision to certify a partial judgment for immediate appeal under Minn. R. Civ. P. 54.02. Contractors Edge, Inc. v. City of Mankato , 863 N.W.2d 765, 769 (Minn. 2015). When a district court abuses its discretion in certifying an order as a final partial judgment, the resulting judgment is not final and is not immediately appealable. Id. at 775.

In this case, the parties did not request that the district court direct entry of a final partial judgment on the May 30, 2018 order to allow an interlocutory appeal under Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 103.03(a) before adjudication of the remaining accounting claim. Instead, the parties stipulated to dismissal of the accounting claim without prejudice under Minn. R. Civ. P. 41.01(a)(2). Because no claims remained for the district court's determination after the parties stipulated to dismissal of the accounting claim, we address whether the October 22, 2018 judgment could be deemed a final, appealable judgment, even though the accounting claim was dismissed without prejudice.

Our supreme court has not addressed whether a party may make a partial judgment immediately appealable by voluntary dismissal of remaining claims without prejudice under Minn. R. Civ. P. 41.01. Because Minn. R. Civ. P. 54.02 is similar to Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), it is appropriate to refer to the federal caselaw. See Schifsky , 773 N.W.2d at 787 n.3.

The federal courts have taken varying approaches to the question of whether a party may create finality through dismissal without prejudice of remaining claims. In the Fifth Circuit, it is a settled rule that appellate jurisdiction over a nonfinal order cannot be created by dismissing the remaining claims without prejudice. Ryan v. Occidental Petroleum Corp. , 577 F.2d 298, 300 (5th Cir. 1978).

The Second, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have adopted the Fifth Circuit's Ryan rule. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider the Ryan rule because abrogation of the rule would subvert rule 54(b) and result in the parties, not the district courts, controlling what interim orders are appealed and when. State Treasurer of Mich. v. Barry , 168 F.3d 8, 14 (11th Cir. 1999). The court noted *62that although the district court may have nothing further to do after a stipulation of dismissal without prejudice is filed, the litigation has not been terminated on the merits because the stipulation is not an adverse final ruling to either party. Id. ; see also Chappelle v. Beacon Commc'ns. Corp. , 84 F.3d 652, 654 (2d Cir. 1996) (agreeing with courts that have precluded appeal from partial dismissal when balance of claims were dismissed without prejudice pursuant to rule 41(a)); Cook v. Rocky Mountain Bank Note Co.

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926 N.W.2d 59, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abuzeni-v-mutschler-minnctapp-2019.