An inter-family squabble in the Virgin Islands has produced U.S. Supreme Court precedent that affects jurisdictional deadlines in thousands of cases across the country. In Hall v. Hall, No. 16-1150, 2018 (Mar. 27), the court ruled that a final judgment entered in a case that was consolidated with a related case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42 is immediately appealable, even though the other case (or cases) remains pending in the district court. Hall changes the case-specific approach the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit took, and flatly reverses the approach taken by several other circuits. This change in the determination of what constitutes an appealable final judgment in a consolidated case is crucial because a failure to take a timely appeal from such a judgment is fatal to the party’s appellate rights.

In-house lawyers need to ensure their outside counsel are aware of this development. When many firms represent different clients in a consolidated action, it can be all too easy to assume that the case will be “over” only when it is over for everybody. Indeed, as discussed below, this was in fact the law of three circuits. But Hall says otherwise, and in-house counsel should confirm that their specific interests are protected and that outside counsel is paying close attention to jurisdictional deadlines in their individual case.

Why and How Are Cases Consolidated?