C & O Motors, Inc. v. West Virginia Paving, Inc., 223 W. Va. 469

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia dismissed an appeal without prejudice because the circuit court's order granted summary judgment on liability but did not resolve damages. The court held that a liability determination without damages is generally interlocutory and not immediately appealable, unless the remaining damages calculation is purely ministerial. It also held that Rule 54(b) certification was unavailable in this single-claim action.

Holdings

1. An order determining liability without determining damages is a partial adjudication of a claim and is generally not immediately appealable.
2. An immediate appeal from a liability judgment may be allowed when the unresolved computation of damages is mechanical and unlikely to produce a second appeal because only a ministerial task, similar to assessing costs, remains.
3. Rule 54(b) certification is permitted only upon entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all claims or parties; in a single-claim action, a partial summary judgment on liability is not certifiable for appeal under Rule 54(b).

Questions Presented

1. Whether a summary judgment order determining liability but leaving damages unresolved is a final, immediately appealable order.
2. Whether the unresolved damages issues could be treated as ministerial so as to make the liability judgment final and appealable.
3. Whether Rule 54(b) certification permits an appeal from a partial summary judgment on liability in a single-claim action.
4. Whether the Supreme Court could review the merits of the summary judgment and Rule 19 joinder rulings despite the absence of a final appealable order.

Disposition

dismissed