considerably delayed. For our part, the law requires that we dismiss the appeal and return the case to the district court for further proceedings.
- A. The Sunday night order is not appealable under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 or 1292(a)(1)
We begin with the obvious: we cannot exercise our customary appellate jurisdiction because the district court has not entered a final judgment. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291. A final judgment is a decision that “ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.” Ray Haluch Gravel Co. v. Centr. Pension Fund of Operating Eng’rs and Participating Emp’rs, 571 U.S. 177, 183 (2014). An appeal from a final judgment may be taken as a matter of right. Gelboim v. Bank of Am. Corp., 574 U.S. 405, 407 (2015).
The plaintiffs concede no final judgment has been entered in this case. Instead, the plaintiffs argue that the district court’s Sunday night order is immediately appealable as an order denying their request for a temporary restraining order. The plaintiffs argue that that—even though the Sunday night order granted their request for a temporary restraining order in part and did not, on its face, deny anything—the order effectively denied their request because of the exigent circumstances involved. This argument fails for three reasons.
First, the district court’s order does not deny the plaintiffs their requested relief at all. The plaintiffs filed their motion on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The district court held an emergency hearing over the weekend and, on Sunday,
5
