Devlin v. Scardelletti, 536 U.S. 1, 17 (2002)

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Cite as: 536 U. S. 1 (2002)

Scalia, J., dissenting

even though they were not named parties to (and hence would not have been able to appeal from) the underlying judgments. We made this distinction between appealing the judgment and appealing a collateral order quite explicit in Blossom v. Milwaukee & Chicago R. Co., 1 Wall. 655 (1864). In that case, the appellant was not a named party to the underlying foreclosure decree, from which it was therefore "certainly true that he [could not] appeal," yet he was a party (obviously, as the movant) to the motion he filed asking the court to complete the foreclosure sale, and therefore could appeal from the order denying that motion. Ibid. Our decisions in Hinckley v. Gilman, C., & S. R. Co., 94 U. S. 467 (1877), and United States Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, Inc., 487 U. S. 72 (1988), are to the same effect. In the former, the appellant was not a named party to the underlying foreclosure decree, from which we said he "cannot and does not attempt to appeal," but he was obviously a party to the collateral order directing him by name to transfer funds to the court, from which we said he could appeal. 94 U. S., at 469. In the latter, witnesses who had been dismissed as named parties to the underlying litigation, 487 U. S., at 75, were allowed to appeal from a collateral order holding them in contempt for their failure to comply with a subpoena addressed to them (and to which they were therefore obviously parties), id., at 76. These cases demonstrate why, even though petitioner should not be able to appeal the District Court's judgment approving the class settlement, there is no dispute that petitioner could (and did) appeal the District Court's collateral order denying his motion to intervene; as the movant, he was a party to the latter. See Marino, 484 U. S., at 304 ("[S]uch motions are, of course, appealable").2

2 The Court finds it "difficult" to understand how the appellants in these cases can be considered parties in the traditional sense because they were not named in the "summons or complaint." Ante, at 8 (internal quotation marks omitted). Quite so. Our whole point is that, in order to appeal a

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