Final Orders

In C&O Motors v. WV Paving Justice Davis again addresses final orders and appealability. The court holds that while a summary judgment on liability alone is generally not appealable, it can be if the damages part of the case is "ministerial," which in the case meant a simple award of calculable damages. The Court also discussed Rule 54 holding it doesn't apply when there is judgment on one claim against one defendant (hereafter "one on one.") Two new syllabus points:

3. An order determining liability, without a determination of damages, is a partial adjudication of a claim and is generally not immediately appealable. However, an immediate appeal from a liability judgment will be allowed if the determination of damages can be characterized as ministerial. That is, a judgment that does not determine damages is a final appealable order when the computation of damages is mechanical and unlikely to produce a second appeal because the only remaining task is ministerial, similar to assessing costs.

4. Certification under Rule 54(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure is permitted only upon the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties. Consequently, in an action that has only one claim against the defendant, an order granting partial summary judgment on liability against that defendant is not certifiable for appeal under Rule 54(b).

http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs/Spring09/34330.htm