Finality
“I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it?”
The Merchant of Venice IV,1; Shylock, insisting on the terms of his bond with Antonio
To file an appeal, you must first have a final judgment. The two prerequisites to an appeal as of right are as follows: (1) the order being appealed is final and (2) the notice of appeal is timely filed. Poff v. Poff, 1993 WL 73897 at *1 (Tenn. Ct. App. March 17, 1993). Notices of appeal must be filed with the clerk of the trial court "within 30 days of entry of the judgment appealed from." Tenn. R. App. P. 4(a). The "judgment appealed from" may be the order overruling the motion for new trial, or one of the other orders set forth in Tenn. R. Civ.. P. 50, 52, and 59.
There are two ways for an order or judgment to become final. First, a trial court order that decides all the issues among all the parties, leaving nothing to be done in the action except to execute on the judgment, is a "final judgment" and thus appealable. See Tenn. R. App. P. 3(a); In re Estate of Henderson, 121 S.W.3d 643, 645 (Tenn. 2003). Second, the trial court may certify an order as final in accordance with Tenn. R. Civ.. P. 54.02. In re Estate of Henderson 121 S.W.3d at 646; Stidham v. Fickle Heirs, 643 S.W.2d 324, 325 (Tenn. 1982).
Numerous scenarios can render a judgment non-final. For instance, a judgment is not final if there remains an undecided claim for attorney fees. Spencer v. The Golden Rule, Inc., 1994 WL 589564 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 21, 1994). A judgment of contempt that reserves ruling on the resulting punishment likewise is not final. Hall v. Hall, 772 S.W.2d 432, 436 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989); In re Hedge, 2003 WL 43353 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 7, 2003).
There are also numerous exceptions to the finality rule. Tennessee Code Annotated sec. 29-5-319(a) provides that an appeal may be taken from certain orders in arbitration cases that are not final and that would not normally be appealable as of right. Orders resolving claims against an estate are appealable immediately without waiting for the entire estate to be settled. In re Estate of Trigg, 368 S.W.3d 483, 496-97 (Tenn. 2012)
If you are not sure if an order is final, the safe thing to do is go ahead and file a notice of appeal. Rule 4(d) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that, if a notice of appeal is filed prematurely, and the trial court subsequently enters a final appealable order, the notice will be deemed to have been filed after entry of the order. Therefore, in any case where it is not clear whether an order is final, the best course is generally to go ahead and file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the order that is believed to be final. Although filing a notice of appeal in this instance might result in a premature appeal, the notice still serves its purpose of preserving the right to an appeal. Preserving the right to appeal is essential since the timely filing of a notice of appeal is jurisdictional, and the appellate court cannot extend the 30-day time-period for any reason. See Tenn. R. App. P. 2.
