Apex Hosiery Co. v. Leader – Case Brief
Apex Hosiery Co. v. Leader, 102 F.2d 702 (3rd Cir., 1939).
Facts: Apex Hosiery (P) brought suit against Leader (D), the president of a labor organization comprised of Apex employees. Apex requested that Leader produce documents for its inspection. Leader objected and the court ordered the production. Leader appealed an order under FRCP 34 for the discovery and production of documents before the end of the trial.
Issue: Is an order for discovery interlocutory and therefore only appealable after entry of final judgment?
Holding and Rule: An order for discovery is interlocutory and may only be appealed after entry of final judgment.
See Cogen v. United States. Only an order that has the effect of ending the case in favor of one party or the other can be appealed. If there is an issue of disobedience around such an order and there is an order for criminal contempt that order may be reviewed before entry of final judgment. Here, the order to produce the documents will not cause a final disposition of the case in favor of P.
Disposition: Appeal dismissed.
Notes: The rule that only final orders may be appealed is known as the “final judgment rule”.