In Pennsylvania, as in most places, for an order to be appealable as of right, it must dispose of all claims against all parties. Thus, would-be appellants' counsel must ensure that whatever orders they intend to challenge are in fact final, in that no "claims" or "parties" remain outstanding. In particular, counsel need to take special care that no "vestigial" claims or parties linger in the weeds of the litigation. "The mere fact that some of the parties have been dismissed from a case, or that some of the counts of a multi-count complaint have been dismissed is insufficient reason to classify an order as final." See Bailey v. RAS Auto Body, 85 A.3d 1064, 1069 (Pa. Super. 2014). Appellate jurisdiction is nonwaivable, and vigorously policed by the appellate courts sua sponte, so even if the active litigants are no longer prosecuting such vestigial matters, their lingering presence can—and does—destroy appellate jurisdiction. See Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association Insurance v. Johnson Matthey, 188 A.3d 396, 398 (Pa. 2018); Schmitt v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 245 A.3d 678, 681 (Pa. Super. 2021) and Estate of Considine v. Wachovia Bank, 966 A.2d 1148, 1151 (Pa. Super. 2009). Forgotten does not mean gone.

Vestigial claims and parties come in many forms. They could be cross-claims or third-party claims that remain on the docket after the original claims have been resolved. See Druot v. Coulter, 946 A.2d 708, 709-10 (Pa. Super. 2008) (counterclaims defeated appealability); Brickman Group v. CGU Insurance, 829 A.2d 1160, 1164-65 (Pa. Super. 2003) (additional defendants defeated appealability); Moore Motors v. Beaudry, 775 A.2d 869, 870 (Pa. Super. 2001) (same for declaratory counterclaim). They could be claims against defaulted, unserved, or otherwise judgment-proof parties. See Bloome v. Alan, 154 A.3d 1271, 1274 (Pa. Super. 2017) (presence of never-served parties defeated appealability); Considine, 966 A.2d at 1152-53 (same as to nonfinal default). They could be claims for indemnity or contribution that persist, notwithstanding dismissal of the underlying claims. See Oliver v. Ball, 136 A.3d 162, 166 n.2 (Pa. Super. 2016). They could be claims subject to a bankruptcy stay. See Prelude v. Jorcyk, 695 A.2d 422, 424 (Pa. Super. 1997) (en banc). Such vestigial matters may well be meritless or otherwise not worth pursuing, but as long as a vestigial claim or party remains on the docket, it is capable of defeating appellate jurisdiction. Lack of appellate jurisdiction can result in even a fully briefed appeal being quashed. No appellate counsel wants to have to explain that to a client.