This month, we examine Mohawk Industries Inc. v. Carpenter,1 which continues the trend toward narrowing the federal collateral order doctrine. This doctrine permits interlocutory appeals from a “small class” of prejudgment orders that are “collateral to” the merits of an action and “too important” to be denied immediate review.2 The petitioner in Mohawk attempted to bring a collateral order appeal after the district court ordered it to disclose certain confidential materials on the ground that Mohawk Industries had waived the attorney-client privilege.
The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals, holding that disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege do not qualify for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that “[p]ostjudgment appeals, together with other review mechanisms, suffice to protect the rights of litigants and preserve the vitality of the attorney-client privilege.”3
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