Hal Jenkins v. Prime Insurance Co, 32 F.4th 1343

Plaintiffs (Hal Jenkins as assignee of CLJ Healthcare, LLC, and CLJ Healthcare, LLC) sued four defendants. The district court dismissed claims against two defendants (David McBride and Evolution Insurance Brokers, LC) and transferred the remaining claims against the other two defendants to the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
Plaintiffs appealed only the dismissal of McBride and Evolution, arguing the transfer left the Georgia court with nothing to do and thus rendered the dismissal a final, appealable decision.
The district court did not certify the order under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) and did not enter a Rule 54(b) judgment.
The Eleventh Circuit considered whether it had appellate jurisdiction under §1291 (final-judgment rule), §1292(b), Rule 54(b), or the collateral-order doctrine.
The court rejected plaintiffs’ reliance on Reuber v. United States and followed reasoning like Chapple v. Levinsky, concluding that a partial dismissal plus transfer does not automatically create a final appealable order.
The court acknowledged plaintiffs’ concern that the Tenth Circuit’s rules might prevent any later appeal in the transferee circuit but held it cannot create an exception to statutory jurisdictional limits; the appeal was dismissed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court’s partial dismissal plus transfer produced a final, appealable order under 28 U.S.C. § 1291	Transfer disengaged the court; nothing left to do, so dismissal is final and appealable	Order is interlocutory because not all claims against all parties were finally adjudicated	No jurisdiction under § 1291; appeal dismissed
Whether interlocutory review is available via § 1292(b) or Rule 54(b)	Plaintiffs did not obtain §1292(b) certification or Rule 54(b) from the district court but argue transfer should suffice	No certification or Rule 54(b) finding was made, so those pathways are unavailable	Neither §1292(b) nor Rule 54(b) applies; no appellate jurisdiction
Whether the collateral-order doctrine permits review of the dismissal	Plaintiffs argue the combined action is effectively final and should be reviewable	The dismissal resolved the merits of those claims; collateral-order doctrine applies only to orders separate from merits and effectively unreviewable later	Collateral-order doctrine does not apply; dismissal was on the merits
Whether precedent (Reuber) supports immediate appeal despite transfer	Reuber suggested transfer+dismissal could be final where the court fully disengages	Other circuits rejected or limited Reuber; allowing it would permit appeals of routine transfers	Rejected Reuber as unpersuasive; court follows Chapple and related authority—no jurisdiction

Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. of Am., 511 U.S. 375 (appeals are limited to jurisdiction authorized by statute)
Corsello v. Lincare, Inc., 276 F.3d 1229 (11th Cir.) (final decision generally must adjudicate all claims against all parties)
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 3.921 Acres of Land in Lake Cnty., 947 F.3d 1362 (11th Cir.) (definition of a final decision)
McFarlin v. Conseco Servs., LLC, 381 F.3d 1251 (11th Cir.) (discussing §1292(b) certification and appellate discretion)
Edwards v. Prime, Inc., 602 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir.) (parameters for Rule 54(b) judgments)
SmileDirectClub, LLC v. Battle, 4 F.4th 1274 (11th Cir.) (scope of the collateral-order doctrine)
Middlebrooks v. Smith, 735 F.2d 431 (11th Cir.) (transfers under §§1404(a) and 1406(a) are non-appealable interlocutory orders)
Reuber v. United States, 773 F.2d 1367 (D.C. Cir.) (held transfer plus dismissal could be final where the court fully disengages)
Chapple v. Levinsky, 961 F.2d 372 (2d Cir.) (declined to follow Reuber; transfer does not make partial dismissal immediately appealable)
Corley v. Long-Lewis, Inc., 965 F.3d 1222 (11th Cir.) (court limited to jurisdiction expressly granted by Congress)