On orders, final orders, and judgments

Perhaps no issue more consistently perplexes litigants (and sometimes, it must be said, judges) than whether a particular order is merely an order, a "final order," or a "judgment." The distinction matters a great deal, and in this case it (for now, at least) cost the plaintiff a shot at almost 8 million bucks.

Tenth District: no jurisdiction over appeal from denial of motion for reconsideration

The reason being, of course, that motions for reconsideration of a final judgment simply don't exist under the Civil Rules. Denials of motions for reconsideration therefore can't be final orders, and the court of appeals has no jurisdiction over appeals from non-final orders.

But there is a lot more going on in this case.