CENT. UTAH WATER CONSERVANCY DIST. v. King, 258 P.3d 633

Shane King, as Trustee/Fiduciary Owner of Stepping Stone Trust, appealed a November 8, 2010 judgment and a February 8, 2011 ruling on his motion for a new trial.
The appeal was considered sua sponte on the issue of lack of jurisdiction due to the absence of a final, appealable order.
The district court did not expressly direct that its February 8, 2011 order was final or that no further order was required, nor did any party prepare a final order under Rule 7(f)(2).
Utah appellate precedent requires a final, appealable order to trigger appellate jurisdiction; otherwise the court must dismiss the appeal.
Giusti v. Sterling Wentworth Corp. held that explicit finality is required and that absent an express final order or a properly prepared order under Rule 7(f)(2), finality is not triggered.
This Court dismissed the appeal without prejudice, recognizing it lacked jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from a non-final order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the February 8, 2011 order is final for appeal	King argues Giusti does not apply to preserve jurisdiction	Appellee asserts the order should be final and appealable if intended as final by the district court	No; order not final; dismissal for lack of jurisdiction
Whether Rule 7(f)(2) requirements were satisfied to trigger finality	King contends no further order was necessary	Appellee contends a final order was not properly prepared or directed by the district court	No; Rule 7(f)(2) not satisfied; dismissal without prejudice

Giusti v. Sterling Wentworth Corp., 2009 UT 2 (Utah Supreme Court, 2009) (finality requires express direction or a properly prepared final order under Rule 7(f)(2))
Bradbury v. Valencia, 2000 UT 50 (Utah Supreme Court, 2000) (appeal improper from non-final orders; final, appealable order required)
Varian-Eimac, Inc. v. Lamoreaux, 767 P.2d 569 (Utah Ct. App. 1989) (lacks jurisdiction; courts dismiss without prejudice)