Butler v. Hon. Thomas L. Kay
Annotate this CasePlaintiff sued Defendant. The district court granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a summary judgment ruling but did not enter an order implementing the summary judgment ruling. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for Utah R. Civ. P. 54(b) certification of final judgment. The district court entered a certification order dismissing Plaintiff’s claims. Operating under the assumption that the two orders were still forthcoming - a Utah R. Civ. p. 7(f)(2) order implementing the court’s summary judgment ruling and a rule 54(b) certifying order - Plaintiff did not file a notice of appeal, instead filing a “motion to proceed with appeal.” The district court denied the motion. Plaintiff stated her intent to appeal the ruling on her motion to proceed with her appeal and the underlying summary judgment ruling. Both parties filed motions for summary disposition. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding (1) all orders, including interlocutory orders, must satisfy rule 7(f)(2); (2) entry of an order that is rule 7(f)(2) compliant is a prerequisite to rule 54(b) certification; (3) a single order may satisfy both rules 7(f)(2) and 54(b), but to do so it must strictly comply with the requirements of both rules; and (4) the certification order in this case did not meet the requirements of a combined rule 7(f) and rule 54(b) order.
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