R. Thomas Seymour (C. Robert Burton with him on the briefs), Seymour Law Firm, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendants-Appellants.
David Feinsilver, The Feinsilver Law Group, P.C., Millburn, New Jersey, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before TACHA, Chief Judge, and BALDOCK and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.
Defendants appeal the district court’s entry of a $1.1 million default judgment. The district court entered default as a discovery sanction after finding Defendants repeatedly, willfully, and in bad faith failed to comply with discovery orders. On appeal, Defendants assert the district court was without jurisdiction to enter a default judgment. Defendants also raise numerous additional challenges to the district court proceedings. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.[1] We affirm the judgment and damage
- ↑ We sua sponte filed an order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Specifically, we questioned whether the district court’s judgment order was a final decision because the order did not resolve certain non-party claims asserting ownership over funds held in escrow. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The parties’ briefs explained and further review confirmed that the unresolved claims affect the court’s execution of the judgment rather than the merits of the judgment order. The district court’s retention of ministerial matters concerning execution of its judgment is a collateral matter and does not deprive us of jurisdiction to hear the appeal. See Copeland By and Through Copeland v. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., 136 F.3d 1249, 1252 (10th Cir. 1998) (Generally, a district court decision is final when the court has rendered a decision that ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.). The district court's judgment order is a final
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