Gelboim v. Bank of America Corp.

Whether a final order renders a suit immediately appealable when that suit has been consolidated with other suits that have not concluded.

Respondents are alleged to have manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). LIBOR is "the most important benchmark for short-term interest rates in the U.S. and around the world." When Respondents' conspiracy to manipulate LIBOR was revealed a flurry of suits erupted. These suits were consolidated into three categories of class-action complaints and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. There, all but a few were dismissed; they had failed to assert antitrust injury and so, could not assert antitrust claims. When Petitioners appealed, the second circuit claimed it did not have jurisdiction because not all of the consolidated claims had final judgments below.

Petitioners now seek certiorari in order to clarify a four-way circuit split regarding the application of 28 U.S.C. § 1291. That statute requires a final order from the district court before giving jurisdiction to a court of appeals. Some circuits, like the Second, require final orders in each of the consolidated cases before hearing any of them. Others allow appeals in each case as it is finalized below, regardless of any consolidated cases.