Trevor Charles v. Thomas Atkinson, 826 F.3d 841

Trevor and Jennifer Charles sued after a vehicle collision alleging injury from driver Thomas Lee Atkinson, an employee of Consolidated Fabrications Construction, Inc. (CFC).
The district court granted summary judgment in favor of CFC and its insurer Amerisure, but did not dispose of claims against Atkinson.
The Charleses appealed the summary-judgment order to the Fifth Circuit invoking 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (final judgment jurisdiction).
The Fifth Circuit noted that appellate jurisdiction under § 1291 requires a final decision disposing of all parties or Rule 54(b) certification; the judgment here did neither.
Whether the appeal is permitted turns on whether Atkinson was ever served; prior Fifth Circuit authority treats unserved, nonappearing defendants as not parties for finality, but service or appearance defeats appellate jurisdiction.
The record was ambiguous about service: district-court docket entries show Proofs of Service returned executed and later issuance of a new summons; the district court made inconsistent statements about whether Atkinson had been located/served.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court of appeals has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291	Charleses: Atkinson was served under Louisiana long-arm statute, so the § 1291 appeal is proper because remaining defendant is unserved/nonappearing	CFC/Amerisure: Summary judgment was final as to them; if Atkinson was served or appeared, appellate jurisdiction under § 1291 would be lacking	Remanded to district court to determine and state whether Atkinson was served; appellate determination deferred until findings entered
Whether the judgment disposed of all parties or required Rule 54(b) certification	Charleses: Order should be final because Atkinson is not a party if unserved/nonappearing	CFC/Amerisure: Judgment did not need Rule 54(b) but appellate jurisdiction depends on service status of Atkinson	Court reiterated § 1291 requires disposal of all parties or certification; record ambiguity requires factual finding on service

Hill v. City of Seven Points, 230 F.3d 167 (5th Cir. 2000) (courts must examine appellate jurisdiction sua sponte)
DK Joint Venture 1 v. Weyand, 649 F.3d 310 (5th Cir. 2011) (final decision requires disposition of all parties or Rule 54(b) certification)
Fed. Sav. & Loan Ins. Corp. v. Tullos-Pierremont, 894 F.2d 1469 (5th Cir. 1990) (unserved, nonappearing defendants are not parties for appellate finality)
Nagle v. Lee, 807 F.2d 435 (5th Cir. 1987) (service or appearance converts a named defendant into a party defeating final-judgment appeal)
Bristol v. Fibreboard Corp., 789 F.2d 846 (10th Cir. 1986) (addressing finality and party status of unserved defendants)
Leonhard v. United States, 633 F.2d 599 (2d Cir. 1980) (same principle regarding unserved defendants and finality)