Richardson-Merrell Inc. v. Koller, an Infant, by and Through Koller et Ux., Her Natural Guardians, et al.

Decided June 17, 1985. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-127 · 472 U.S. 424 (1985) · Cited 814 times

Holding

Orders disqualifying counsel in a civil case are not collateral orders subject to immediate appeal as "final judgments" within the meaning of 1291, and hence the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to entertain respondent's appeal.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Flanagan v. United States · 465 U.S. 259 (1984)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Risjord · 449 U.S. 368 (1981)
• Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay · 437 U.S. 463 (1978)
• Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
• Abney v. United States · 431 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Will v. United States · 389 U.S. 90 (1967)
• Helstoski v. Meanor · 442 U.S. 500 (1979)
• United States v. Hollywood Motor Car Co. · 458 U.S. 263 (1982)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Digital Equipment Corp. v. Desktop Direct, Inc. · 511 U.S. 863 (1994)
• Cunningham v. Hamilton County · 527 U.S. 198 (1999)
• Stringfellow v. Concerned Neighbors in Action · 480 U.S. 370 (1987)
• Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter · 558 U.S. 100 (2009)
• Johnson v. Jones · 515 U.S. 304 (1995)
• Behrens v. Pelletier · 516 U.S. 299 (1996)
• Lauro Lines S.R.L. v. Chasser · 490 U.S. 495 (1989)
• Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance · 517 U.S. 706 (1996)
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp. · 485 U.S. 271 (1988)
• Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard · 486 U.S. 517 (1988)
• Johnson v. Fankell · 520 U.S. 911 (1997)
• Dupree v. Younger · 598 U.S. 729 (2023)
• Riley v. Bondi · 606 U.S. 259 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).