Austin Hayden v. Orison F. McDonald Etc.

This is an appeal from an order of the district court granting partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs Austin Hayden, et al. We address sua sponte whether this judgment was improperly certified by the district court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). For the reasons that follow, we find that certification was an abuse of discretion and dismiss the appeal.

Although the rather tortuous procedural history of this case demands detailed explanation, for purposes of this appeal the facts may be briefly summarized. Plaintiffs, a group of investors, initially filed four separate complaints (now…