Hall, Elsa v. Hall, Samuel, et al.

Whether, in single district consolidated cases, the entry of a final judgement in only one case triggers the appeal-clock for that case.

After Petitioner’s mother died, Petitioner became the administrator of her mother’s estate and the trustee of her mother’s trust. In her representative capacities, Petitioner became the plaintiff in a lawsuit, in which her mother had sued her son and his law firm (Respondents) for conversion, malpractice, fraud, and related torts. The son then filed a separate lawsuit against Petitioner individually. The district court consolidated the two cases. The jury returned a verdict against Petitioner in her representative and individual capacities. Petitioner, in her individual capacity, filed a motion for a new trial. The district court granted the motion and vacated the verdict against Petitioner. The son filed a motion to reconsider the order granting a new trial. Petitioner, in her representative capacity, appealed to the Third Circuit, but while the son’s motion for reconsideration was still pending in the other case, the Third Circuit dismissed the appeal due to a lack of appellate jurisdiction. Petitioner asks the United States Supreme Court to decide whether, in single district consolidated cases, the entry of a final judgement in only one case triggers the appeal-clock for that case.