Samara v. Matar

When a trial court judgment rests on more than one ground, it may be impossible for a losing party to obtain appellate review of all of the court's determinations. In a breach of contract action, for example, a trial court might grant a defense motion for summary judgment because no contract was formed, and because in any event there was no breach. On direct review, an appellate court could affirm if either of those conclusions was correct, without resolving or even considering the other one. Thus, a plaintiff who argues on appeal that there was a contract (and that the contract was breached)…