Under what rule and circumstances can a party seek an interlocutory appeal of an order related to injunctive relief?

• A. Interlocutory appeals may be allowed under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) for orders granting or denying injunctions; other routes include certified questions or statutory provisions.
• B. Interlocutory appeals are never allowed for injunctions.
• C. Only final judgments can be appealed.
• D. Interlocutory appeals are governed by Rule 60.

Answer: (C)

Interlocutory challenges to injunctive orders are handled through specific federal statutes, not by a general rule about final judgments. The main avenue is 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), which allows an immediate appeal of orders that grant, deny, or modify injunctions. This creates a pathway for review before the case reaches a final judgment.

There’s also a parallel route: a district court can certify a controlling question of law for appellate review under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). If the judge certifies that the question is controlling, there is a substantial ground for difference of opinion, and an immediate appeal would materially advance the litigation, the case can go up to the circuit court even though it isn’t a final judgment.

Rule 60, by contrast, governs relief from a final judgment in the district court and is not a mechanism for obtaining an interlocutory appeal of an injunctive order.

So the correct framework is that interlocutory appeals of injunctive orders are allowed under § 1292(a)(1), with an alternative option under § 1292(b) if the criteria for certification are met.