STEPHANIE CLIFFORD V. DONALD TRUMP, No. 20-55880 (9th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED MAR 18 2022 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, AKA Stormy Daniels, Plaintiff-Appellant, No. U.S. COURT OF APPEALS 20-55880 D.C. No. 2:18-cv-06893-JLS-FFM v. MEMORANDUM* DONALD J. TRUMP, Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Josephine L. Staton, District Judge, Presiding Submitted March 16, 2022** Pasadena, California Before: THOMAS, WARDLAW, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges. Stephanie Clifford appeals two district court orders—an order granting attorneys’ fees to Appellee Donald Trump and a second order granting Trump’s motion to correct and/or strike the clerk’s rescission of a certification that the * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). attorneys’ fees order was a final judgment. We lack jurisdiction over Clifford’s appeal of the underlying order granting attorneys’ fees. We have jurisdiction over the second order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. 1. The district court correctly held that the fees, costs, and sanctions order issued on December 11, 2018 was a final judgment that did not require a separate document pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58(a)(3). Because orders awarding ancillary costs in addition to attorneys’ fees do not trigger the separate document requirement, see S.L. ex rel. Loof v. Upland Unified Sch. Dist., 747 F.3d 1155, 1161 (9th Cir. 2014), the district court’s order awarding $292,052.33 in attorneys’ fees and $1,000 in sanctions was a final, appealable order in accordance with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a). Further, because the district court’s attorneys’ fees award was “a full adjudication of the issues” and “clearly evidence[d] the judge’s intention that it be the court’s final act in the matter,” the order was a final, registrable judgment for appellate purposes. Casey v. Albertson’s Inc., 362 F.3d 1254, 1258 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Nat'l Distrib. Agency v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 117 F.3d 432, 433 (9th Cir. 1997)). 2. Because the district court’s 2018 order granting attorneys’ fees was a final judgment, we have no jurisdiction over Clifford’s appeal of that award. To invoke this court’s jurisdiction over an appeal, “[a] notice of appeal ‘must be filed with the district clerk within 30 days after the judgment or order appealed from is 2 entered.’” Menken v. Emm, 503 F.3d 1050, 1055 (9th Cir. 2007) (quoting Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A)); Tillman v. Ass’n of Apartment Owners of Ewa Apartments, 234 F.3d 1087, 1089 (9th Cir. 2000). Because Clifford did not file a notice of appeal as to the 2018 order until August 24, 2020, her appeal from the attorneys’ fees award was untimely. We AFFIRM in part and DISMISS in part. 3
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
