Title 28 U.S.C. § 1291 allows federal courts of appeal to review “final decisions of the district courts.” But sometimes a plaintiff and a defendant are in a hurry to get wherever the lawsuit is going. They conclude that a decision by the court of appeals might speed things up. What can they do to get to that final decision? While parties in a hurry consider what route to take, they should read a recent decision by the Sixth Circuit that clearly marks one way out-of-bounds.

Local 392 of the Plumbers, Pipe Fitters & Mechanical Equipment Service Union sued three mechanical-services companies claiming that the companies had broken a collective-bargaining agreement. The Southern District of Ohio granted summary judgment holding that two of the companies were bound by the collective-bargaining agreement but one was not. The union appealed. But since the district court had yet to set damages that ruling wasn’t final. So the parties entered into a “Stipulated Judgment Order” setting damages, which candidly stated that the union and the companies agreed “to the entry of this judgment for the sole purpose of proceeding with the appeal.”

The Sixth Circuit ordered briefing on whether the “Stipulated Judgment Order” was a final order for the purposes of Section 1291. The parties agreed that the order was final; the Sixth Circuit did not, and dismissed the appeal.

The Sixth Circuit noted that a decision is final “if it ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.” A judgment cannot be final unless it “make[s] the parties bring all of their issues—liability, damages, and whatever else they choose to litigate—in a single appeal.” But under the stipulated judgment order in this case, if the Sixth Circuit had reversed any of the district court’s decisions “the parties . . . [would have been] free to litigate ‘any issues’ on remand.” The stipulated order would have allowed the union and the companies to “pause the litigation, appeal, then resume the litigation on whatever issues they like . . . .” The Sixth Circuit held the stipulated order wasn’t an end to the litigation, but a detour. And it would be a detour around Title 28—a route the parties are not allowed to take.

Read the Sixth Circuit’s opinion here.