Positano Place at Naples III Condominium Association, Inc. v. Empire Indemnity Insurance Company

USCA11 Case: 22-11060 Document: 58-1 Date Filed: 05/31/2023 Page: 1 of 31
[PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
Nos. 22-11059, 22-10877, 22-11060, 22-10889
____________________
POSITANO PLACE AT NAPLES I CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION, INC.,
a Florida not-for-profit Corporation,
POSITANO PLACE AT NAPLES II CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION, INC.,
a Florida not-for-profit Corporation,
POSITANO PLACE AT NAPLES III CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION, INC.,
a Florida not-for-profit Corporation,
POSITANO PLACE AT NAPLES IV CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION, INC.,
a Florida not-for-profit Corporation,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
versus
EMPIRE INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
D.C. Docket Nos. 2:21-cv-00178-SPC-MRM, 2:21-cv-00181-SPC-
MRM, 2:21-cv-00183-SPC-MRM, 2:21-cv-00186-SPC-MRM
____________________
Before LUCK, LAGOA, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges.
LAGOA, Circuit Judge:
These appeals 1 are about a pending insurance contract dis-
pute between Positano Place at Naples I Condominium Associa-
tion, Inc., and Empire Indemnity Insurance Company, which is-
sued an insurance policy (the “Policy”) to Positano for coverage of
five buildings that Positano owns in Naples, Florida. Following
Hurricane Irma, Positano filed a first-party claim for property in-
surance benefits under the Policy, claiming that Hurricane Irma
damaged its property and that the damage was covered by the
1 We previously consolidated case numbers 22-11059, 22-10877, 22-11060, and
22-10889 for purposes of hearing oral argument in those cases. We now sua
sponte consolidate those cases for purposes of resolving these appeals.
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 3
Policy. After Empire investigated Positano’s claim, Empire deter-
mined that there was coverage as to only three of the five buildings
covered by the Policy but disagreed as to the amount of the loss.
In response, Positano sought to invoke appraisal based on the Pol-
icy’s appraisal provision. When Empire did not respond to Posi-
tano’s appraisal demand, Positano sued Empire in Florida state
court, and Empire removed the case to federal court based on di-
versity jurisdiction.
Following removal, Positano moved to compel appraisal
and to stay the case pending the resolution of the appraisal proceed-
ings, which Empire opposed. The magistrate judge issued a report
recommending that the district court grant Positano’s motion, and,
over Empire’s objection, the district court ordered the parties to
appraisal and stayed the proceedings pending appraisal. Empire
timely appealed the district court’s order.
We issued a jurisdictional question to the parties asking
them to address whether this Court had appellate jurisdiction over
an order that compelled appraisal, stayed the case pending ap-
praisal, and directed the parties to file status reports on the ap-
praisal process. We also asked the parties to address whether or-
ders compelling appraisal are treated the same as orders compelling
arbitration for purposes of appellate jurisdiction.
After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument,
we conclude that the district court’s order compelling appraisal and
staying the proceedings pending appraisal is an interlocutory order
that is not immediately appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
We also conclude that the order compelling appraisal and staying
the action pending appraisal is not immediately appealable under
the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). Accordingly, for the reasons
stated below, we dismiss the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdic-
tion.
I. RELEVANT BACKGROUND 2
Empire issued the Policy to Positano for five buildings
owned by Positano in Naples, Florida (the “Insured Property”).
The Policy has a total coverage value in the millions of dollars, and
each of the buildings is separately scheduled and subject to a 3 per-
cent hurricane deductible. The Policy contains the following ap-
praisal provision:
Mediation Or Appraisal
If we and you:
....
B. Disagree on the value of the property or the
amount of loss, either may request an appraisal of the
loss, in writing. In this event, each party will select a
competent and impartial appraiser. The two apprais-
ers will select an umpire. If they cannot agree, either
may request that selection be made by a judge of a
court having jurisdiction. The appraisers will state
2In these consolidated appeals, the facts, procedural histories, and arguments
made below and on appeal are largely the same. For purposes of this opinion,
our discussion of the facts and procedural history focuses on those in Positano
Place at Naples I Condominium Association, Inc., v. Empire Indemnity Insur-
ance Company, No. 22-11059.
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 5
separately the value of the property and amount of
loss. If they fail to agree, they will submit their differ-
ences to the umpire. A decision agreed to by any two
will be binding. Each party will:
1. Pay its chosen appraiser; and
2. Bear the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire
equally.
If there is an appraisal, we will still retain our right to
deny the claim.
However, you are not required to submit to, or par-
ticipate in, any appraisal of the loss as a precondition
to action against us for failure to pay the loss, if we:
1. Requested mediation and either party rejected the
mediation result; or
2. Failed to notify you of your right to participate in
the mediation program.
On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Naples.
Nearly seven months later, Positano notified Empire of storm dam-
age to the Insured Property. Empire investigated the claim and in-
spected the Insured Property. Empire and Positano exchanged a
series of letters relating to Positano’s claim over a period of approx-
imately three years. The details of those letters are not relevant to
the issue before us. Suffice it to say that the parties disagreed about
the amount of covered losses incurred by Positano as a result of
Hurricane Irma.
At some point during this process, Positano sent a written
request for appraisal to Empire. After Positano’s appraisal request
went unanswered, it filed a complaint against Empire in Florida
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6 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
state court. Empire subsequently removed the action to the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on the basis
of diversity jurisdiction. After its initial complaint was dismissed in
part, Positano filed its amended complaint. In its amended com-
plaint, Positano asserted three claims: (1) specific performance; (2)
breach of contract; and (3) declaratory judgment. As to specific
performance, Positano alleged that the Policy’s appraisal provision
demonstrated the parties’ intention to have disputes related to cau-
sation, scope, and loss be resolved through the appraisal process
upon either party’s demand. It alleged that the parties’ dispute was
not a coverage dispute but a dispute over the amount of loss. As
to the breach of contract claim, Positano alleged that Empire
acknowledged loss and coverage but had failed to comply with its
contractual obligations to engage in the appraisal process and had
not paid in full for the covered losses suffered by Positano. And, as
to the declaratory judgment claim, Positano asked the district court
to declare, among other things, that it had “properly invoked the
Policy’s appraisal provision.”
Empire’s answer asserted nineteen affirmative defenses
against Positano’s claims. Many of these affirmative defenses are
coverage defenses, and, at the time this appeal was filed, the district
court had not issued any dispositive rulings as to those coverage
defenses.
Positano then moved to compel appraisal and to stay the
proceedings pending completion of appraisal. The district court
referred the motion to compel to a magistrate judge. The
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 7
magistrate judge issued a report recommending that the district
court grant Positano’s motion, finding that Empire did not dispute
Positano’s assertion that a “dispute has arisen over the scope and
amount of [its] damages” and that requiring the parties to engage
in appraisal was therefore appropriate.
As relevant to this appeal, the magistrate judge rejected Em-
pire’s contention that “compelling appraisal is an injunctive rem-
edy in the form of specific performance,” which cannot be required
because Positano failed to show entitlement to specific perfor-
mance, and concluded that Positano was not required to plead and
prove the elements of specific performance to compel appraisal be-
cause Florida case law suggested that methods of alternative dis-
pute resolution, e.g., appraisal, should be employed when possible.
The magistrate judge also rejected Empire’s argument that ap-
praisal could not be compelled absent a final determination about
whether it breached the Policy’s appraisal provision. The magis-
trate judge explained that, unlike summary judgment, an appraisal
does not determine whether there is a genuine disputed material
fact or there is entitlement to judgment and can be sought through
breach of contract and declaratory judgment actions as a form of
alternative dispute resolution.
The district court accepted and adopted the report and rec-
ommendation in full, and also provided additional analysis in its
order. As relevant to this appeal, the district court addressed Em-
pire’s argument that Positano must first obtain judgment in its fa-
vor for specific performance before an appraisal could take place.
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8 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
The district court explained that “[t]he problem for Empire—and
for Positano in its attempt to plead a count for specific performance
(as an alternative to its breach of contract and declaratory relief
counts)—is that the appraisal process is not remedial.” The district
court noted that participation in the appraisal process would not
remedy the damages caused by Hurricane Irma; it would simply be
“one step in this process, supplying an extra-judicial mechanism to
calculate the amount of loss.” The district court stated that ap-
praisal is a form of alternative dispute resolution and that its
“source of authority to order the parties to participate in an alter-
native dispute process comes from its subject-matter jurisdiction
over a contract dispute where the contract contains a provision
where the parties contracted for the right to have amount-of-loss
disputes decided informally by experienced appraisers.” And the
district court stated that appraisal would not dispose of any of the
claims or defenses.
This appeal ensued. During this appeal, we issued a jurisdic-
tional question to the parties asking them to address the basis of
our jurisdiction to review the order compelling appraisal in this
case as well as whether an order compelling appraisal is treated the
same as an order compelling arbitration for purposes of appellate
jurisdiction. Following the parties’ briefing, we carried the juris-
dictional issue with the case and now resolve it in this opinion.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review de novo an order granting a party’s motion to
compel appraisal. See Jacobs v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 236
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 9
F.3d 1282, 1285 (11th Cir. 2001). We also review de novo our ap-
pellate jurisdiction. Thomas v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys., Inc.,
972 F.3d 1195, 1200 (11th Cir. 2020).
III. ANALYSIS
“We have a duty to assure ourselves of our jurisdiction at all
times in the appellate process.” Id. (quoting Overlook Gardens
Props., LLC v. ORIX USA, L.P., 927 F.3d 1194, 1198 (11th Cir.
2019)). Therefore, before we can review the order compelling ap-
praisal in this case, we must determine whether we have jurisdic-
tion to do so. See World Fuel Corp. v. Geithner, 568 F.3d 1345,
1348 (11th Cir. 2009). For an order to be appealable, it “must either
be final or fall into a specific class of interlocutory orders that are
made appealable by statute or jurisprudential exception.” CSX
Transp., Inc. v. City of Garden City, 235 F.3d 1325, 1327 (11th Cir.
2000); see 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291–92. Title 28 U.S.C. § 1291 provides us
with appellate jurisdiction of final decisions of the district courts,
while § 1292 provides for review of certain classes of interlocutory
orders. Additionally, for an order disposing of a request to compel
arbitration, the FAA governs the appealability of such an order.
Am. Express Fin. Advisors, Inc. v. Makarewicz, 122 F.3d 936, 939
(11th Cir. 1997).
We begin our analysis by addressing whether we have ap-
pellate jurisdiction under either 28 U.S.C. § 1291 or 28 U.S.C.
§ 1292. We then explain why we do not have appellate jurisdiction
under the FAA.
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10 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
A. Whether the Order Compelling Appraisal Is Appealable
Under 28 US.C. §§ 1291 or 1292(a)
Under § 1291, the federal courts of appeals “shall have juris-
diction of appeals from all final decisions of the district courts of the
United States.” “A final decision is ‘one which ends the litigation
on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute
the judgment.’” CSX Transp., 235 F.3d at 1327 (quoting Pitney
Bowes, Inc. v. Mestre, 701 F.2d 1365, 1368 (11th Cir. 1983)).� � When
“a district court anticipates that further proceedings on substantive
matters may be required, any order it makes to facilitate those fur-
ther proceedings is necessarily not final.” Broussard v. Lippman,
643 F.2d 1131, 1133 (5th Cir. Unit A Apr. 1981). 3
Here, we conclude that the order compelling appraisal in
this case is not a final order appealable under § 1291. In its order,
the district court explicitly contemplated further proceedings, ex-
plaining that the appraisal would not dispose of any of the claims
in the case nor Empire’s coverage defenses. Further, in Florida,
“[a]ppraisal exists for a limited purpose—the determination of ‘the
amount of the loss.’” Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Mango Hill #6
Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 117 So. 3d 1226, 1230 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2013).
“[A]n agreement for appraisal extends merely to the resolution of
the specific issues of actual cash value and ‘amount of loss,’” and
3 InBonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc),
this Court adopted as binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Cir-
cuit handed down before the close of business on September 30, 1981.
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“all issues other than those contractually assigned to the appraisal
panel are reserved for determination in a plenary action.” Id. at
1229. And notably, Florida courts do not consider an order com-
pelling appraisal to be a final order. See, e.g., People’s Tr. Ins. Co.
v. Garcia, 263 So. 3d 231, 233 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019); see also Fla.
R. App. 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv) (“Appeals to the district courts of appeal
of nonfinal orders are limited to those that . . . determine . . . the
entitlement of a party to . . . an appraisal under an insurance pol-
icy.”). Thus, we do not have appellate jurisdiction to review the
order compelling appraisal under § 1291, as it is not a final order.
Because the order compelling appraisal is not a final order
appealable under § 1291, we now turn to the question of whether
it falls within one of the classes of appealable, interlocutory orders
under § 1292. In doing so, we are mindful that “interlocutory ap-
peals are inherently “disruptive, time-consuming, and expensive,”
and thus “are generally disfavored.” Prado-Steiman ex rel. Prado
v. Bush, 221 F.3d 1266, 1276 (11th Cir. 2000) (quoting Waste Mgmt.
Holdings, Inc. v. Mowbray, 208 F.3d 288, 294 (1st Cir. 2000)).
Section 1292(a) creates a narrow exception from the “long-
established policy against piecemeal appeals.” Gardner v. Westing-
house Broad. Co., 437 U.S. 478, 480 (1978). Under that statute, the
courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction over certain classes of
interlocutory orders, including interlocutory orders “granting, con-
tinuing, modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions, or refusing
to dissolve or modify injunctions.” § 1292(a)(1). In Gulfstream
Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp., 485 U.S. 271 (1988), the
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Supreme Court explained that § 1292(a)(1) provides appellate juris-
diction over “orders that grant or deny injunctions and orders that
have the practical effect of granting or denying injunctions and
have ‘serious, perhaps irreparable, consequence.’” Id. at 287–88
(quoting Carson v. Am. Brands, Inc., 450 U.S. 79, 84 (1981)); accord
Carson, 450 U.S. at 84 (“Unless a litigant can show that an interloc-
utory order . . . might have a ‘serious, perhaps irreparable, conse-
quence,’ and . . . can be ‘effectually challenged’ only by immediate
appeal, the general congressional policy against piecemeal review
will preclude interlocutory appeal.”); Admin. Mgmt. Servs., Ltd. v.
Royal Am. Managers, Inc., 854 F.2d 1272, 1278–79 (11th Cir. 1988).
In United States v. City of Hialeah, 140 F.3d 968 (11th Cir. 1998),
we summarized the requirements laid out in Carson and Gulf-
stream for appellate jurisdiction of an interlocutory order under
§ 1292(a)(1) as follows: (1) “if the relief sought is not actually an in-
junction, then it must have the practical effect of an injunction”;
and (2) “the appellant must show that the interlocutory order of
the district court ‘might have a serious, perhaps irreparable, conse-
quence, and that the order can be effectually challenged only by
immediate appeal.’” Id. at 973 (quoting Carson, 450 U.S. at 84);
accord Roberts v. St. Regis Paper Co., 653 F.2d 166, 170 (5th Cir.
Unit B Aug. 1981); United States v. Bowman, 341 F.3d 1228 (11th
Cir. 2003). Thus, “[i]f relief may be obtained upon review after
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trial, the parties are not considered to have suffered irreparable
consequences.” 4 Admin. Mgmt. Servs., 854 F.2d at 1279.
We have not decided the issue of whether an order that only
compels appraisal, and stays the proceedings pending the appraisal
process, is appealable under § 1292(a)(1). Although Empire argues
that the district court’s order here was an injunction, we need not
reach that question because two requirements—being an injunc-
tion or injunction-like and having “serious, perhaps irreparable,
consequence” such that the order is effectively challengeable “only
by immediate appeal”—must be satisfied for an order to be appeal-
able under § 1292(a)(1). See City of Hialeah, 140 F.3d at 973. And
applying those requirements, we conclude that neither component
of City of Hialeah’s second requirement is satisfied by the order
compelling appraisal in this case. Indeed, the appraisal order does
4 We note that, in Alabama v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 424 F.3d 1117(11th Cir. 2005), we held that, to be appealable under § 1292(a)(1), “the inter-
locutory order appealed must have the first two element of an injunction,”
i.e., “it must be: (1) a clearly defined and understandable directive by the court
to act or to refrain from a particular action; and (2) enforceable through con-
tempt, if disobeyed.” Id. at 1128. We also stated that the order must give
“some or all of the substantive relief sought in the complaint” and that “[t]he
§ 1292(a)(1) exception [to the final judgment rule] does not embrace orders
that have no direct or irreparable impact on the merits of the controversy.”
Id. at 1128–29 (alterations in original) (quoting Gardner, 437 U.S. at 482). Be-
cause we ultimately conclude that the district court’s interlocutory order com-
pelling appraisal and staying the proceedings does not satisfy all the require-
ments in Administrative Management Services and City of Hialeah, we need
not address any of the additional requirements stated in U.S. Army Corps.
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14 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
not have some “serious, perhaps irreparable consequence.” See id.The district court’s order does not entitle Positano to judgment on
its claims against Empire. And while the appraisal process is bind-
ing on the parties as to the amount of the loss, Empire can still pur-
sue its defenses of coverage denials as a whole and to specific build-
ings owned by Positano in the district court once the appraisal pro-
cess concludes. See State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Licea, 685 So. 2d
1285, 1287–88 (Fla. 1996). And if Empire is unsuccessful in the dis-
trict court following the conclusion of the appraisal proceedings, it
can still obtain relief upon review after trial by appealing any final
judgment against it—meaning that the order is not effectively chal-
lengeable only by immediate appeal. 5 See Admin. Mgmt. Servs.,
5 We respectfully disagree with our dissenting colleague that the City of Hia-
leah requirements are limited only to interlocutory orders denying an injunc-
tion or injunction-like relief. See Dis. Op. at 7–9. First, our precedent in City
of Hialeah did not make such a distinction in setting forth the requirements.
See City of Hialeah, 140 F.3d at 973. Additionally, the Supreme Court, in con-
cluding that an “analogous” provision to § 1292(a)(1)—28 U.S.C. § 1253—en-
compassed orders with the “practical effect” of granting or denying an injunc-
tion, rejected the appellees’ argument that “an order denying an injunction
(the situation in Carson) and an order granting an injunction (the situation
here) should be treated differently.” Abbot v. Perez, 138 S. Ct. 2305, 2320–21
(2018). The Supreme Court noted that, not only did the appellees “offer no
convincing reason for” drawing such a distinction, “[n]o authority supports
their argument.” Id. at 2321. The Court explained that “[t]he language of
§§ 1253 and 1292(a)(1) makes no such distinction” and that “the ‘practical ef-
fect’ analysis applies to the ‘granting or denying’ of injunctions.” Id. (citing
Gulfstream, 485 U.S. at 287–88). The Court also reasoned that “appellees’ sug-
gested distinction would put appellate courts in an awkward position . . . [and]
needlessly complicate appellate review.” Id. The Court’s reasoning in Abbott
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854 F.2d at 1279 (“If relief may be obtained upon review after trial,
the parties are not considered to have suffered irreparable conse-
quences.”); see also Bowman, 431 F.3d at 1237 (“What makes an
issue effectively unreviewable on appeal is the insufficiency of the
remedy after final judgment.” (quoting United States v. One Parcel
of Real Prop. With Bldgs., Appurtenances & Improvements, 767
F.2d 1495, 1497 (11th Cir. 1985))).
While Empire raises out-of-circuit authority to argue that
the order compelling appraisal is rooted in an action for specific
performance of a contract that is treated as an injunction, see, e.g.,
Westar Energy, Inc. v. Lake, 552 F.3d 1215, 1222–23 (10th Cir.
2009); Hayes v. Allstate Ins. Co., 722 F.2d 1332, 1333 (7th Cir. 1983),
we do not find those cases persuasive here. In Westar Energy, the
Tenth Circuit found that the district court’s order, in which the
court ordered the appellant to pay the appellee’s legal expenses and
expressly invoked its equitable powers, was a preliminary injunc-
tion. 552 F.3d at 1222. The Tenth Circuit stated that “[a]n action
seeking to enforce the right to advancement [of legal fees] is an ac-
tion for specific performance of a contract,” that specific
thus supports our conclusion that the City of Hialeah requirements are not
limited to interlocutory orders denying an injunction or injunction-like relief.
Moreover, we are bound to follow our prior binding precedent unless and un-
til it is overruled by this Court en banc or the Supreme Court. United States
v. Vega-Castillo, 540 F.3d 1235, 1236 (11th Cir. 2008). We therefore are bound
to apply the City of Hialeah requirements in determining whether we can re-
view the order granting the motion to compel appraisal in this case.
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performance “is an equitable remedy,” and that “an interim grant
of specific relief is a preliminary injunction.” Id. at 1222–23. And
the Tenth Circuit declined to apply Carson’s “serious, perhaps ir-
reparable, consequence” requirement because it construed that re-
quirement as applying only “in situations where orders have the
practical effect of denying an injunction.” Id. at 1223 (“[O]rders
which themselves grant or deny injunctive relief are appealable as
injunctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) without the Carson show-
ing.” (citing Hutchinson v. Pfeil, 105 F.3d 566, 569 (10th Cir.
1997))).
But unlike Westar Energy, the district court in this case did
not order appraisal based on its “equitable powers.” Moreover, the
“relief” granted by the district court was not enforcement of a right
to advancement of fees but an order sending the parties to a con-
tractually-anticipated alternative dispute resolution process that
would not dispose of the underlying claims or defenses in the case.
Further, to the extent the Tenth Circuit declined to apply Carson’s
“serious, perhaps irreparable, consequence” requirement to the or-
der in Westar Energy because it was substantively a preliminary
injunction, see id., we are bound, by City of Hialeah, to apply the
“serious, perhaps irreparable, consequence” requirement even if
we conclude that the district court’s order here was an actual in-
junction. See City of Hialeah, 140 F.3d at 973 (identifying “serious,
perhaps irreparable consequence” as requirement in addition to
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 17
order being injunction or injunction-like). Thus, we do not find
Westar Energy dispositive here. 6
Additionally, in Hayes, the Seventh Circuit provided no
analysis of why it had appellate jurisdiction under § 1292(a)(1) to
review the order; the court simply concluded that it did. 722 F.2d
at 1333. Given the lack of jurisdictional analysis by the Seventh
Circuit, we decline to follow Hayes. And notably, Judge Posner
dissented in Hayes on the basis that there was no jurisdiction to
hear an interlocutory appeal of an order compelling appraisal. See
id. at 1336 (Posner, J., dissenting). In doing so, Judge Posner spe-
cifically noted that there was no possibility of irreparable harm
from the district court’s order because any delay to the plaintiffs’
lawsuit while appraisal was ongoing “would be trivial, and cer-
tainly could not harm them irreparably.” Id. at 1336–37 (citing Car-
son, 450 U.S. at 84). And, if the plaintiffs disagreed with the results
of the appraisal, “they could—just as soon as the district court en-
tered its final judgment on the basis of the appraisal—file the same
appeal they have filed from the stay; and if we then reversed the
district court’s judgment the appraisal would have caused the plain-
tiffs no harm at all.” Id. We agree with Judge Posner’s characteri-
zation of the lack of irreparable harm to a party that is ordered to
6 For the same reason, we must also reject the unpublished decision of Fire-
man’s Fund Insurance Co. v. Steele Street Ltd. II, in which the Tenth Circuit
applied Westar Energy to conclude that it had jurisdiction over an order en-
forcing an insurance policy’s appraisal provision under § 1292(a)(1), No. 19-
1096, 2022 WL 39392, at *4 (10th Cir. Jan. 5, 2022).
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18 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
appraisal. And, under City of Hialeah, some serious or irreparable
consequence is required for an interlocutory order to be appealable
under the injunction analogy theory. 140 F.3d at 973. Simply put,
an interlocutory order compelling appraisal does not implicate
such serious or irreparable consequence to a party as to satisfy City
of Hialeah’s requirements.
As a final note, we recognize that Florida courts do not re-
quire a party seeking to enforce an appraisal provision in an insur-
ance policy to file a motion for injunctive relief. See People’s Tr.
Ins. Co. v. Nowroozpour, 277 So. 3d 135, 136 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App.
2019) (“After a homeowner has filed suit, it may be more tradi-
tional for an insurer to move to compel an appraisal to seek en-
forcement of the policy provisions . . . .”); see, e.g., People’s Tr. Ins.
Co. v. Marzouka, 320 So. 3d 945 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021); First
Protective Ins. Co. v. Colucciello, 276 So. 3d 456 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App.
2019); People’s Tr. Ins. Co. v. Tracey, 251 So.3d 931 (Fla. Dist. Ct.
App. 2018). Florida courts grant motions to compel appraisal when
“the parties have agreed to [appraisal] and the court entertains no
doubts that such an agreement was made.” Marzouka, 320 So. 3d
at 947–48 (emphasis removed) (quoting Preferred Mut. Ins. Co. v.
Martinez, 643 So. 2d 1101, 1103 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)).
Accordingly, because the district court’s interlocutory order
compelling appraisal and staying the proceedings does not satisfy
all the requirements set forth by our decisions in Administrative
Management Services and City of Hialeah, it is not appealable
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 19
under § 1292(a)(1). We therefore lack appellate jurisdiction to re-
view the order.
B. Whether an Order Compelling Appraisal Is Appealable Un-
der the FAA
We now turn to the issue of whether the order compelling
appraisal in this case—which was ordered based on an appraisal
provision in an insurance policy—is appealable under the FAA.
The FAA provides that “[a] written provision in any . . . contract
evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitra-
tion a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or trans-
action, . . . shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon
such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any
contract.” 9 U.S.C. § 2. The FAA governs the appealability of an
order ruling on a motion to compel arbitration. Under 9 U.S.C.
§ 16(a)(3), an appeal may be taken from “a final decision with re-
spect to an arbitration.” Conversely, under § 16(b)(1) and (3), an
appeal may not be taken from an interlocutory order that grants a
stay of any action under 9 U.S.C. § 3—providing for stays of pro-
ceedings where an issue in the suit is referable to arbitration—or
that compels arbitration under 9 U.S.C. § 206.
Federal policy behind the FAA favors arbitration agree-
ments, Wasyl, Inc. v. First Bos. Corp., 813 F.2d 1579, 1582 (9th Cir.
1987), and the FAA creates a “body of federal substantive law of
arbitrability, applicable to any arbitration agreement within the
coverage of the Act,” Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury
Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 24 (1983). But Congress did not define
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20 Opinion of the Court 22-11059
the term “arbitration” in the FAA. Salt Lake Trib. Publ’g Co. v.
Mgmt. Plan., Inc., 390 F.3d 684, 688 (10th Cir. 2004).
Here, we are presented with an order granting a party’s mo-
tion to compel appraisal based on an appraisal provision in an in-
surance policy. We have not decided the question of whether an
appellate court looks to state or federal law in determining whether
an appraisal process falls within the definition of “arbitration” for
purposes of the FAA, nor has the Supreme Court directly addressed
the question. But see Advanced Bodycare Sols., LLC v. Thione
Int’l, Inc., 524 F.3d 1235, 1239–40 (11th Cir. 2008) (articulating “a
test for resolving whether a particular dispute resolution procedure
is FAA ‘arbitration’”).
But we need not decide this issue because even assuming for
the sake of argument that the order compelling appraisal here fell
within the definition of arbitration for purposes of the FAA, we still
lack appellate jurisdiction over the district court’s order. Section
16(a)(3) allows for an appeal from “a final decision with respect to
an arbitration that is subject to this title” and is interpreted “accord-
ing to the ‘well-developed and longstanding meaning’ of a ‘final de-
cision.’” Managed Care Advisory Grp., LLC v. CIGNA Healthcare,
Inc., 939 F.3d 1145, 1154 (11th Cir. 2019) (quoting Green Tree Fin.
Corp.-Ala. v. Randolph, 531 U.S. 79, 86 (2000)). And “[a] final deci-
sion ‘ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing more for
the court to do but execute the judgment.’” Id. (quoting Green
Tree, 531 U.S. at 86). For the reasons explained above, the district
court’s order compelling appraisal and staying the case pending
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22-11059 Opinion of the Court 21
appraisal is not a final decision. And because § 16(b)(3) specifically
states that “an appeal may not be taken from an interlocutory order
. . . compelling arbitration”—and § 16(b)(1) likewise makes “an in-
terlocutory order . . . granting a stay” pending referral of arbitrable
issues to arbitration not immediately appealable—we lack appel-
late jurisdiction over the order compelling appraisal even if ap-
praisal were to be considered arbitration for purposes of the FAA.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed, we conclude that the district
court’s order compelling appraisal and staying the proceedings
pending appraisal is an interlocutory order that is not immediately
appealable under either 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) or the Federal Arbi-
tration Act. We therefore dismiss the appeal for lack of appellate
jurisdiction.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
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22-11059 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 1
TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
I.
A.
I dissent from the Majority’s disposition of this consolidated
appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) if the
District Court order requiring Empire to submit to an appraisal as
prescribed by the insurance policy with the insured1 is (1) interloc-
utory and (2) grants an injunction.2
Certainly, the District Court’s order to compel an appraisal
is an interlocutory order since the District Court stayed proceed-
ings in anticipation of ongoing litigation on this matter rather than
dismissing the case. We are halfway to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) juris-
diction.
The District Court’s order to compel an appraisal is also a
grant of an injunction. It is immaterial that the complaint did not
1 I refer to the insured in the singular throughout this opinion, but all four of
the plaintiffs in the consolidated cases are situated similarly.
2 According to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1),
Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the
courts of appeals shall have jurisdiction of appeals from [i]nter-
locutory orders of the district courts . . . granting, continuing,
modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions, or refusing to
dissolve or modify injunctions, except where a direct review
may be had in the Supreme Court.
28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).
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2 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 22-11059
seek the injunction the District Court granted. The point is that
the District Court granted one. That is what the District Court did.
See Gov’t Emps. Ins. Co. v. Glassco, Inc., 58 F.4th 1338, 1345 (11th Cir.
2023) (per curiam) (stating that in deciding the finality of a district
court order, we must look to what the district court did, not focus
on labels).
The District Court’s order is an injunction because (1) it
commanded Empire to do something (engage in an appraisal) and
(2) it is enforceable under the District Court’s inherent civil con-
tempt power. See Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 428, 129 S. Ct. 1749,
1757 (2009) (“[An injunction] is a means by which a court tells
someone what to do or not to do. When a court employs ‘the ex-
traordinary remedy of injunction,’ . . . it directs the conduct of a
party, and does so with the backing of its full coercive powers”
(quoting Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305, 312, 102 S. Ct.
1798, 1803 (1982)); Alabama v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, 424 F.3d
1117, 1128 (11th Cir. 2005) (defining an injunction as “(1) a clearly
defined and understandable directive by the court to act or refrain
from a particular action; and (2) enforceable through contempt, if
disobeyed”); Injunction, Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed. 1999) (de-
fining “injunction” as “[a] court order commanding or preventing
an action”); Joseph Story, 2 Commentaries on Equity Jurispru-
dence § 861 p. 57 (9th ed. 1866) (“A Writ of Injunction may be de-
scribed to be a judicial process, whereby a party is required to do a
particular thing, or to refrain from doing a particular thing, accord-
ing to the exigency of the writ.”); 1 Howard C. Joyce, A Treatise
on the Law Relating to Injunctions § 1, p. 2 (1909) (“In a general
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22-11059 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 3
sense, every order of a court which commands or forbids is an in-
junction; but in its accepted legal sense, an injunction is a judicial
process or mandate operating in personam by which, upon certain
established principles of equity, a party is required to do or refrain
from doing a particular thing.”).
Here, the District Court ordered Empire to engage in an ap-
praisal with the insured. The consequence of this order would be
to bar Empire from trying the loss issue to the jury on the basis of
the appraisal result rather than on the evidence of the loss the par-
ties would submit at a trial. That satisfies one element of an injunc-
tion. 3 The District Court’s order is also enforceable by the Court’s
inherent civil contempt power. How could it not be?
If Empire refused to engage in an appraisal, the insured
would move the District Court for an order requiring Empire to
show cause why it refuses to engage in an appraisal. The motion
would cite the injunctive order and allege that Empire refused to
engage in the appraisal. Accepting the allegation as true, the Dis-
trict Court would enter an order requiring Empire to show cause
for its refusal to engage in an appraisal. At the show-cause hearing,
Empire would have to show a legal excuse for its refusal to obey
the injunction’s mandate or face a contempt adjudication and a
3 The injunction is permanent in the sense that the District Court did not re-
serve further question on the applicability of the appraisal provision for later
decision. This order compelling an appraisal is the Court’s final word on the
appraisal provision question.
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4 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 22-11059
sanction for its refusal (probably a fine which would continue to be
imposed daily until Empire complied with the injunctive order).
If Empire failed to show legal cause and a sanction was im-
posed, Empire would have two choices: (1) it could comply with
the injunction and purge its contempt or (2) appeal the judgment
adjudicating the contempt and imposing a sanction to the Court of
Appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 4
B.
The Majority says, “if Empire is unsuccessful in the district
court following the conclusion of the appraisal proceedings, it can
still obtain relief upon review after trial by appealing any final judg-
ment against it.” Maj. Op. at 14. But Empire could not. This be-
comes clear when we consider the choices that await Empire on
remand—the two choices mentioned above. I submit that Empire
will never obtain review unless it defies the order compelling an
appraisal and is held in contempt. What I say next explains why.
One of Empire’s choices is that it can comply with the in-
junction’s command and, after the appraisal process has run its
course, proceed to trial before a jury. At trial, the appraisal will be
introduced into evidence as fixing the loss. Empire will not intro-
duce any evidence of loss; that is the result of the District Court’s
4 The text of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 states, “The courts of appeals . . . shall have
jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district courts of the
United States . . . except where a direct review may be had in the Supreme
Court.” 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
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22-11059 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 5
injunction. The injunction required Empire to engage in an ap-
praisal, and it deprived Empire of the right to have the jury deter-
mine the loss issue on the basis of evidence produced by the parties.
The other choice Empire faces is that it can obtain appellate
review of the District Court’s injunctive order by refusing to en-
gage in an appraisal and suffering a contempt citation and judg-
ment. The judgment would be appealable under § 1291 and would
provide Empire the review it now seeks under § 1292(a)(1). Why
would Empire run the contempt route? It would take no additional
work. Empire has already written its brief on the merits of the un-
derlying order and it could be replicated in appealing the contempt
on the basis of the underlying order.
The choice Empire makes between these two options will
depend on the extent to which Empire believes that not engaging
in an appraisal and trying the loss issue to a jury (sans appraisal de-
termination of loss) would be more beneficial than engaging in an
appraisal and allowing the appraisal to fix the loss at trial. What
this means is that Empire will decide as a matter of choice whether
it will ever be able to obtain appellate review of its challenge to the
District Court’s injunctive order. If Empire suffers a contempt ad-
judication, it will obtain review under § 1291. If it chooses to com-
ply with the injunctive order—engages in an appraisal and goes to
trial with the loss issue resolved by the appraisal rather than a
jury—and suffers an adverse judgment following a trial, it will not
be able to assign the District Court’s issuance of the injunctive or-
der as error. Empire would have made an uncoerced choice and
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6 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 22-11059
opted not to have immediate appellate review, but rather to pro-
ceed to trial with a loss amount fixed by an appraisal.
There is another reason Empire will not be able to obtain
appellate review of the order compelling an appraisal if it chooses
to comply with the order and engage in an appraisal. To enable
the review at that point would give Empire the best of both worlds.
If Empire’s choice to go to trial with the amount of loss fixed by an
appraisal does not pan out, Empire can appeal and obtain a jury
trial on loss.
Such an outcome has a number of troubling consequences.
First, we all but eliminate 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) as a means of ob-
taining appellate review of an interlocutory order granting an in-
junction. Second, we signal to litigants who oppose the issuance of
an injunction and want appellate review to defy the injunction’s
mandate, suffer a contempt adjudication, and appeal the judgment
under § 1291. This signal (1) encourages disrespect for the rule of
law; (2) sets the stage for litigants to regularly suffer the stain of a
contempt citation; and (3) wastes judicial resources by requiring an
extra procedural step.
II.
Now, let us put the previous discussion aside and focus on
what the Majority does.
The Majority punts on answering whether the District
Court’s order is an injunction because the Majority utilizes a two-
pronged test to determine the appealability of the injunctive order
under § 1292(a)(1) that reaches beyond the statute’s text. Maj. Op.
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22-11059 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 7
at 13. The Majority must acknowledge that the order Empire is
currently appealing is an injunction. What it says, therefore, is that
although the interlocutory order compels Empire to act (and is en-
forceable by the contempt power), the order is unappealable under
§ 1292(a)(1) because to qualify as an injunction under § 1292(a)(1),
the injunctive order itself—in addition to causing a party such as
Empire to act or be held in contempt—must impose upon the party
a “serious, perhaps irreparable consequence.” Id. at 12. How the
order issuing the injunction would show that, and why it would
have to do so, the Majority does not say. And what that conse-
quence would be escapes me altogether. Nonetheless, because the
injunction does not show that, the Majority dismisses this appeal
for lack of jurisdiction. Id. at 21.
The cases the Majority cites do not change our preceding
analysis. The Majority cites to five cases that regard a denial of an
injunction; this is a far different breed of case. 5 See Carson v. Am.
Brands, Inc., 450 U.S. 79, 101 S. Ct. 993 (1981); United States v. City
5 Other than the denial cases, the Majority only cites to one other case for the
proposition that Empire must also satisfy a “serious, perhaps irreparable con-
sequence” requirement prior to this Court finding jurisdiction. United States
v. Bowman, 341 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2003).
Bowman is completely inapposite. In Bowman, the appellants did not
challenge an injunction, they challenged an “ex parte seizure.” Id. at 1229.
The challenged order also derived from an in rem civil action. See supra part
I.A (describing an injunction traditionally as an in personam order). There-
fore, Bowman also has nothing to say about the instant case, which is an appeal
of a granted injunction.
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8 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 22-11059
of Hialeah, 140 F.3d 968 (11th Cir. 1998); Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
v. Mayacamas Corp., 485 U.S. 271, 108 S. Ct. 1133 (1988); Admin.
Mgmt. Servs., Ltd. v. Royal Am. Managers, Inc., 854 F.2d 1272 (11th
Cir. 1988); Roberts v. St. Regis Paper Co., 653 F.2d 166 (5th Cir. Unit
B Aug. 10, 1981). 6 To appeal an interlocutory order granting an in-
junction, the appellant needs only the language of the injunction—
language indicating that the injunction (1) compels an action or re-
straint from taking an action and (2) is capable of enforcement via
contempt.
In appealing an interlocutory order denying an injunction, the
appellant must include as record its application for the injunction—
so the appellate court can know that it seeks an injunction enforce-
able via contempt—and the district court’s order presumably ad-
dressing the application in full. This difference explains the “seri-
ous, perhaps irreparable consequence” language in Carson, City of
Hialeah, Gulfstream, Royal American, and Roberts, and that language
does not apply to the appeal of a granted injunction.7
6 In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc),
this Court adopted as binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Cir-
cuit handed down before the close of business on September 30, 1981.
7 The Majority points to Abbot v. Perez for the proposition that the Supreme
Court has said the granting and the denying of an injunction ought not to be
treated differently. 138 S. Ct. 2305, 2320–21 (2018); Maj. Op. at 14–15 n.5. But
once again, this case is inapposite. The discussion from which the Majority
pulls that proposition does not discuss the “serious, perhaps irreparable con-
sequence” prong from Carson. Rather, the Supreme Court says that orders
denying injunctions and granting injunctions ought not to be treated
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22-11059 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 9
Additionally, the legal consequence of declining to review
the interlocutory denial of an injunction is different. One, the de-
nial is tentative and provisional, subject to subsequent reconsider-
ation by the district court. Two, the movant can obtain review of
the application under § 1291 if the denial remains to become final.
Three, the movant cannot obtain review of its denied application
through the contempt choice (that Empire will have) because a de-
nial of an injunction is not enforceable by the court’s contempt
power. That would be nonsensical.
* * *
It seems to me that, as a policy matter, there exists a desire
not to hear interlocutory appeals, but rather to keep reviewable is-
sues out of the appellate courts as a prophylactic matter so litiga-
tion can continue until the end. I understand that the finality re-
quirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 rests on the policy justification of
avoiding “piecemeal reviews” and “obstructing or impeding an on-
going judicial proceeding by interlocutory appeals,” thus promot-
ing “judicial efficiency and hasten[ing] the ultimate termination of
litigation.” United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 690, 94 S. Ct. 3090,
3099 (1974). But 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) provides an exception to §
1291 and specifically applies to the kind of order—a granted
differently when deciding whether the order on appeal has the “practical ef-
fect” of an injunction—a different piece of the Carson analysis. Id. at 2319–21.
The Majority and I do not quibble over this point. We disagree over the in-
troduction of a “serious, perhaps irreparable consequence” requirement, a
point on which Perez says nothing.
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10 TJOFLAT, J., Dissenting 22-11059
injunction—we have before us here. Further, hearing this appeal
serves the efficiency-based policy interests that normally militate
against appellate courts finding appellate jurisdiction for the rea-
sons outlined in this opinion. Under the Majority’s framing, ineffi-
ciency will flourish. Empire could be in this Court three times:
now, after judgment, and maybe after the retrial.
I therefore dissent because I would hold that we have juris-
diction over this consolidated appeal of the District Court’s order
granting an injunction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).