Split Fifth Circuit Panel Grants Mandamus to End a Sixty-Year-Old School Desegregation Case Where Every Remaining Party Filed an Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1) Stipulation of Dismissal

In  In re School Board of Concordia Parish, No. 26-30074 (5th Cir. July 14, 2026), the panel dismisses an appeal by the parties from the District Court’s refusal to terminate a long-running school desegregation case pursuant to a Rule 41(a)(1) stipulation of dismissal, finding that it lacks appellate jurisdiction to review that action. But twoContinue reading “Split Fifth Circuit Panel Grants Mandamus to End a Sixty-Year-Old School Desegregation Case Where Every Remaining Party Filed an Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1) Stipulation of Dismissal”

“Administrative Termination” of a Post-Judgment Motion Did Not “Dispos[e] Of” It for Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(A) Tolling Purposes, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In Khatabi v. Car Auto Holdings LLC, No. 24-12573 (11th Cir. May 28, 2026), the Eleventh Circuit holds that the “administrative termination” of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 50 and 59 motions to facilitate a post-trial mediation was not sufficiently conclusive to restart the 30-day clock for filing an appeal under Fed. R. App. P.Continue reading ““Administrative Termination” of a Post-Judgment Motion Did Not “Dispos[e] Of” It for Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4)(A) Tolling Purposes, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

Eleventh Circuit Closes Off Resort to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a) to Dismiss Remaining Claims as an Expedient to Appeal Contested Claims Dismissed Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b)

The Eleventh Circuit, in CMYK Enterprises, Inc. v. Advanced Print Technologies, LLC, No. 24-13766 (11th Cir. Sept. 12, 2025), rejects a common tactic used by parties to speed-up the appeal of a partial dispositive order, i.e., voluntarily dismissing the remaining claims under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a). The panel holds that, by its plain terms,Continue reading “Eleventh Circuit Closes Off Resort to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a) to Dismiss Remaining Claims as an Expedient to Appeal Contested Claims Dismissed Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b)”

Eleventh Circuit Holds That Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) Stipulation Must Be Signed by All Parties Who Have Appeared in a Lawsuit to Be Effective, Creating Split with the Fifth Circuit

In City of Jacksonville v. Jacksonville Hospitality Holdings, L.P., No. 22-12419 (11th Cir. Sept. 13, 2023), the Eleventh Circuit holds in a matter of first impression that all parties to a case—not just those directly involved in the dismissal—must sign a Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) dismissal motion for it to be effective. Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)Continue reading “Eleventh Circuit Holds That Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) Stipulation Must Be Signed by All Parties Who Have Appeared in a Lawsuit to Be Effective, Creating Split with the Fifth Circuit”