Jack R. Watts, proceeding pro se, filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Correctional Officer Harley Burkey in the Northern District of West Virginia. After filing an amended complaint, Watts moved to amend it further, but a magistrate judge denied the motion. Watts attempted to appeal this denial immediately. While his appeal was pending in the Fourth Circuit, the district court adopted the magistrate judge's recommendation and granted summary judgment to the defendant on the amended complaint. Watts sought to appeal the earlier denial of his motion to amend, arguing that the subsequent summary judgment should allow the court to review the earlier procedural ruling.
The court held that it could not exercise jurisdiction over the appeal because the magistrate judge's order denying the motion to amend was not a final order under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, nor was it an immediately appealable interlocutory or collateral order under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 or the Cohen doctrine. The court noted that while summary judgment was later granted, the doctrine of cumulative finality does not apply here. As the court explained, citing Houck v. LifeStore Bank, the district court could not have certified the magistrate judge's order denying the motion to amend for immediate appeal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). Because the order was not certifiable for immediate review, the later final judgment does not retroactively grant jurisdiction over the earlier, non-final ruling. The court also denied Watts's motions to waive filing fees and to appoint counsel.
The appeal is dismissed without addressing the merits of the civil rights claims or the amendment denial. Appellants in similar situations must wait for a final judgment, such as the grant of summary judgment, and file a new appeal from that final order to challenge the denial of a motion to amend. The decision reinforces that procedural rulings on amendments generally cannot be appealed until the case concludes, unless the district court explicitly certifies the order for immediate review under Rule 54(b).
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