Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
Lincoln Benefit Life Company, a Nebraska Domestic Insurance Corporation v. Robert R. Edwards
Citations: 160 F.3d 415; 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 24534; 1998 WL 789190Docket: 97-2154
Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; October 1, 1998; Federal Appellate Court
Lincoln Benefit Life Company appealed a district court order denying its motion for summary judgment based on a statute of limitations defense. The Eighth Circuit Court vacated its earlier decision affirming the district court and dismissed the appeal, determining it lacked jurisdiction because the order was not final. The court noted that Lincoln Benefit failed to meet the ten-day deadline to apply for review under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), and thus the entry of judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b) could not be treated as a certification for interlocutory appeal. Furthermore, the court rejected the argument that the denial of summary judgment could be considered final under the collateral order doctrine, referencing case law that established denials on such grounds are not appealable. The court indicated potential damages and costs against Lincoln Benefit for pursuing a frivolous appeal and allowed both parties to submit relevant information regarding fees incurred during the appeal process. The remaining issues in the case had proceeded to trial, and any future appeals would be assigned to the same panel for efficiency. The appeal was ultimately dismissed.