Finality in Federal District Judgments for Purposes of Appeal: the General Rule

Federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction of final U.S. district court judgments except where a decision may be directly reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States.  SCOTUS said, in Hall v. Hall, No. 16-1150, Mar. 27, 2018, which I have cleaned up: "A final decision ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. The archetypal final decision is one that triggers the entry of judgment. Appeal from such a final decision is a matter of right. Under §1291, any litigant armed with a final judgment from a lower federal court is entitled to take an appeal, which generally must be filed within 30 days."

Texas Bar Litigation Section's Fall 2015 Issue of The Advocate Has Useful, Helpful Articles for Civil Appellate Practitioners.

The Advocate, the publication of the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section, has two outstanding article which should be of interest to followers of this blog: "Permissive Interlocutory Appeals in Texas" by Connie Pfeiffer on page 48 of the Fall 2015 issue and "Which of These Motions Are Appealable" by Jane Webre on page 52.

Many Texas Injunction Cases Can Result in Three Appeals Each.

The law recognizes that some bad acts are irreversible and provides the remedy of a temporary restraining order. Temporary restraining orders can be entered without notice to the restrained parties. Such a powerful procedure can be abused, which is why temporary restraining orders can be appealed. One of the rules of temporary restraining orders is that a TRO has a short period of validity and must be followed quickly by a hearing with all parties present, which may result in a temporary injunction until a real trial can get to its turn on the docket. The temporary injunction can be appealed, too. If there is a permanent injunction, as is common, the judgment in that case is final, and, therefore, appealable.