Case: 19-30836 Document: 00515712060 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/20/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 19-30836 January 20, 2021
Summary Calendar
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Darrell Berry; Constance Lafayette,
Plaintiffs—Appellants,
versus
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation, “Freddie Mac” as trustee for securitized trust;
Loancity; Freddie Mac Multiclass Certificates Series
3113 Trust; Mortgage Electronic Registration System,
“MERS”; Does 1-100, “inclusive,”
Defendants—Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Louisiana
No. 3:18-CV-888
Before King, Smith, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opin-
ion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances
Case: 19-30836 Document: 00515712060 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/20/2021
No. 19-30836
Plaintiffs sued pro se, asserting a variety of claims against six defen-
dants. The present appeal arises from the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims
against three of those defendants: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corpor-
ation, Freddie Mac Multiclass Certificate 3113 Trust, and Mortgage Elec-
tronic Registration System.
“Federal courts are of limited jurisdiction,” and we “possess only
that power authorized by Constitution and statute . . . .” Kokkonen v. Guar-
dian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). Generally speaking,
Congress has granted courts of appeals jurisdiction to review only “final deci-
sions of the district courts of the United States . . . .” 1 An order, such as the
one here, “that resolves ‘the rights and liabilities of fewer than all parties’ is
not final—because any such order ‘may be revised[ 2] at any time’ before final
judgment.” Williams v. Seidenbach, 958 F.3d 341, 346–47 (5th Cir. 2020)
(en banc) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b)). 3
Because plaintiffs appeal an order that “adjudicate[d] . . . rights and
set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
1
28 U.S.C. § 1291; see also McLaughlin v. Miss. Power Co., 376 F.3d 344, 350 (5th
Cir. 2004) (per curiam) (“[A]s a general rule, all claims and issues in a case must be
adjudicated before appeal, and a notice of appeal is effective only if it is from a final order
or judgment.” (quotation omitted)).
2
“[R]evis[ing]” its order is exactly what the district court did. Fed. R. Civ. P.
54(b). It granted plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration and permitted them to file an
amended complaint, which it dismissed on September 25, 2020. Berry v. LoanCity,
No. 18-888-JWD-SDJ, 2020 WL 5750854, at *10 (M.D. La. Sept. 25, 2020), appeal dock-
eted, No. 20-30670 (5th Cir. Oct. 27, 2020). Plaintiffs have filed a separate appeal chal-
lenging that dismissal. See id.
3
There are exceptions to that general rule, none of which is applicable here. See
generally 19 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal Practice § 202.06
(3d ed. 2020) (explaining that there are “certain circumstances” in which a district court
“may order a final judgment to be entered as to fewer than all of the parties or claims in an
action”).
2
Case: 19-30836 Document: 00515712060 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/20/2021
No. 19-30836
liabilities of fewer than all parties,” it is not a final decision, so we lack jur-
isdiction to review it. Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). Accordingly, the appeal is
DISMISSED. Plaintiffs’ motion to consolidate this appeal with
No. 20-30670 is DENIED.
3
Berry v. Wells Fargo Bank
Combined Opinion