Robertson v. USA

*Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
For the Fifth Circuit
No. 99-10659
GEORGE S. ROBERTSON
Plaintiff-Appellant
VERSUS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Defendant-Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Northern District of Texas
( 4:98-CV-981-BE )
July 12, 2001
Before GARWOOD, PARKER, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Plaintiff-appellant George Robertson filed an interlocuotry
appeal of the district court’s March 3, 1999, “gag order”
restraining him from communicating with the media about his case
against the United States. We construe the district court’s order
as having expired upon the final disposition of Robertson’s suit,

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and therefore as having no continuing effect on the parties.
Accordingly, we do not reach the merits of this issue, which is
moot.
Robertson also appealed the district court’s denial of his
motion for default judgment against the United States. However,
this court’s jurisdiction is generally limited to appeals of final
decisions of district courts. 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (2000). And, as
this claim is not “separable from, and collateral to, rights
asserted in the action, too important to be denied review and too
independent of the cause itself to require that appellate
consideration be deferred until the whole case is adjudicated,”
Adult Film Ass’n of America, Inc. v. Thetford, 776 F.2d 113, 115
(5th Cir. 1985), it is not susceptible to interlocutory review under
the collateral order doctrine. Id. We therefore lack jurisdiction
to consider Robertson’s appeal of the district court’s denial of
his motion for default judgment.
Accordingly, the “gag order” appeal is dismissed as moot, and
the motion for default judgment appeal is dismissed for lack of
appellate jurisdiction.
Appeals DISMISSED.

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