Federal Circuit Places Members of the Bar on NoticeJanuary 29, 2007

It’s not over until it’s over. In International Electronic Technology Corp. v. Hughes Aircraft Company, DirecTV, Inc. and Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc., the Federal Circuit dismissed International Electronic’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. In its ruling, the Federal Circuit stated: “The court takes umbrage at parties who have not carefully screened their cases to ascertain whether or not a judgment is final. It is incumbent on all parties to do so. The court should not be required or obligated to scrub every case to determine finality. At this time, the court shall not issue an order to show cause as to whether both parties should be cited or sanctioned for failing to determine finality before filing; however, the parties and other members of the bar are hereby placed on notice that the court shall in the future begin to cite counsel for failure to determine whether or not the appealed judgment is final.” Take heed ? the Federal Circuit may not be so forgiving next time. To read the full order in Int’l Elec. Tech. Corp. v. Hughes Aircraft Co., click here.

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