John L. Rogers v. Alaska Steamship Company

Salutary though it be, the rule that generally only final judgments are appealable in Federal courts is frequently overlooked by even experienced counsel.

It is salutary, because it protects the courts and the parties themselves from the delays, inconveniences, and frustrations incidental to piecemeal appeals.

It is overlooked, because counsel, impatient to get into a higher court, often prematurely seek appellate review.

The temptation to seek such review seems to be especially strong in the prosecution of class suits.

Such, at least, appears to have been the situation in the instant case.

1. Statement of the Case

For a period of more than three years ending in October, 1955, the steward’s department employees of more than thirty steamship companies on the West Coast worked in accordance with the terms of a Consent Decree of this Court, filed on June 19, 1952. The instant case is a sequel to that decree.

In the libel filed in the District Court, about 400 seamen sought to recover the difference between the compensation paid them while they worked during the period of the Consent Decree, and “the reasonable value of their services”. The appellants complain that they were…