William Gregory Merryman, proceeding pro se, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida against the Town of Orange Park and several individual defendants. During the proceedings, Merryman filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and two motions for clarification. The district court denied these motions in an order dated September 17, 2025. Merryman also appealed a separate October 6, 2025 order denying his request to submit filings electronically. Because the underlying complaint remained pending in the district court, Merryman attempted to appeal these interim rulings immediately rather than waiting for a final judgment.
The Eleventh Circuit determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the district court's orders were interlocutory and not final decisions. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, appellate jurisdiction is generally limited to final decisions that end the litigation on the merits. The court cited Acheron Cap., Ltd. v. Mukamal, noting that an appealable final order must leave nothing for the court to do but execute its judgment. Since Merryman's complaint remained pending, the orders did not meet this standard. The court further analyzed the collateral order doctrine, explaining that an interlocutory order is only appealable if it conclusively determines the disputed question and is effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. The court found that the denial of the TRO did not meet this criteria. Additionally, the court addressed 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), which allows appeals from orders granting or denying injunctive relief. The court held that the denial of a TRO is not appealable under this statute unless the relief sought was effectively a preliminary injunction. Citing McDougald v. Jenson and AT&T Broadband v. Tech Commc'ns, Inc., the court noted that a TRO denial is only immediately appealable if there was notice and a hearing suggesting preliminary injunction status, or if the denial resulted in irreparable harm. The court found no evidence of notice, a hearing, or irreparable harm in this case.
The appeal is dismissed, and the case returns to the district court for further proceedings. The ruling reinforces the strict application of the final judgment rule in the Eleventh Circuit, clarifying that denials of temporary restraining orders are generally not immediately appealable unless they function as preliminary injunctions or cause irreparable harm. Parties must wait for a final judgment to appeal such procedural rulings unless they can demonstrate the specific exceptions outlined in the opinion.
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