Background
Samuel Lee Smith, Jr., proceeding pro se, appealed from a district court order dated May twenty-seven, two thousand and twenty-six. That order directed the plaintiff to respond to defendants’ motions to dismiss his amended complaint. The appeal was filed from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined it lacked jurisdiction because the appealed order was not a final decision under Section twelve hundred and ninety-one of Title twenty-eight of the United States Code. The order did not end the litigation on the merits as the complaint remained pending. The court also found the order was not appealable under the collateral order doctrine because it was not effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment.
What it means going forward
The appeal was dismissed, and all pending motions in the district court were denied as moot, leaving the underlying litigation to proceed.