Dupree v. Younger, ___ S. Ct. ___, 2023 WL 3632755 (U.S. May 25, 2023), has nothing whatever to do with drugs, or devices, or product liability, but we bring it to our readers’ attention because of what it has to say about federal appellate procedure. In Dupree, a §1983 action, the defendant sought summary judgment for the plaintiff’s alleged failure to exhaust administrative remedies – and lost. Then the defendant went to trial, and lost again. Id. at *2-3.
Then the defendant appealed. But – oops – the defendant did not raise the exhaustion issue in his post-trial motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a). Id. at *3. In the Fourth Circuit, failure to renew any issue, even a purely legal one like exhaustion, on a Rule 50(a) post-trial motion waived that issue. Varghese v. Honeywell International, Inc., 424 F.3d 411, 422-23 (2005).
Not anymore.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Eliminates Appellate Procedure Trap for the Unwary
