Can you appeal a denial of summary judgment?

Can you appeal a trial court’s denial of summary judgment? Normally the answer is “no.” The reason is that a denial of summary judgment is an interlocutory judgment, not a final judgment, and is therefore not appealable. See La. Code Civ. P. art. 2083.

But under a line of Louisiana First Circuit cases, there’s an exception to this rule. The exception occurs when the parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, and the trial court grants one motion while denying the other. If the summary judgment granted by the trial court is appealable, then the appellant can also appeal the denial of the cross-motion for summary judgment. This line of cases includes the following:

• Lambert Gravel Co. v. Parish of West Feliciana, 2015-1225, pp. 9–10 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/20/16), 234 So. 3d 889, 895–96.
• Gilchrist Constr. Co. v. State, DOTD, 2013-2101, p. 7 (La. App. 1 Cir. 3/9/15), 166 So. 3d 1045, 1051.
• Parish Nat'l Bank v. Wilks, 2004-1439, p. 4 n. 6 (La. App. 1 Cir. 8/3/05), 923 So. 2d 8, 11 n. 6 (citing several cases).

I don’t recall any cases on this topic from other circuits. If you know of any, please send me an email or leave a comment.