Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Holocaust victims

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 23, 2012//

Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Holocaust victims

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 23, 2012//

Listen to this article

Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Holocaust victims

The denial of a motion to dismiss on political question grounds is not an immediately appealable collateral order.

“In applying these teachings, the D.C. Circuit determined that the denial of a motion to dismiss on political question grounds was not an immediately appealable collateral order, notwithstanding the fact that the first two requirements for invoking the collateral order doctrine were satisfied. Doe v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 473 F.3d 345, 349 (D.C. Cir. 2007). The D.C. Circuit took to heart the Supreme Court’s admonition that ‘we have meant what we have said; although the Court has been asked many times to expand the “small class” of collaterally appealable orders, we have instead kept it narrow and selective in its membership.’ Will, 546 U.S. at 350; see also Doe, 473 F.3d at 349. The line between those orders that are and are not appealable as collateral orders probably owes more to history than to precise logical consistency, but the line has been drawn in precedents that we must respect and follow as best
we can. Erste has not directed us to, and we have not found, any case in which a federal appeals court held that denial of a motion to dismiss on political question grounds was immediately appealable as a collateral order. Permitting an appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss based on political question grounds would substantially expand the scope of the collateral order doctrine. We follow the D.C. Circuit on this question and hold that the collateral order doctrine does not provide appellate jurisdiction over the denial of the motion to dismiss based on Erste’s political question defense. Doe, 473 F.3d at 353.”

Dismissed.

11-2940 &11-2946 Abelesz v. Erste Group Bank AG

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Der-Yeghiayan, J., Hamilton, J.

Full Text

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests