A June 17, 2026 filing in the Fourth Circuit puts a familiar but strategically significant appellate issue front and center: whether an appeal should be dismissed before the merits briefing even begins. In No. 25, appellees Debra Campbell, the City of Asheville, and Esther Elizabeth Manheimer moved to dismiss the appeal in Case No. 26-1014, asking the court to terminate the proceeding at the outset rather than allow it to move forward on a full briefing schedule.

Although the short docket entry does not itself spell out every ground raised, motions like this typically target threshold defects that go to the appellate court’s power to hear the case at all. The most common arguments include lack of a final appealable order under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, an untimely notice of appeal, mootness, or an effort to appeal an interlocutory ruling that does not qualify for immediate review. In a case involving municipal defendants and public officials, appellees may also argue that the appellant is attempting to obtain piecemeal review of district court rulings that must await final judgment.

That makes this filing worth watching. Appellate litigators know that a motion to dismiss an appeal is not just procedural housekeeping; it can reshape the case. If granted, it preserves the district court posture, saves the appellees the expense of merits briefing, and may force the appellant back into the trial court. If denied, the motion still serves a tactical purpose by educating the motions panel early about jurisdictional weaknesses and framing the appeal through the lens of justiciability and appellate gatekeeping.

The broader context also matters. Appeals involving cities and local officials often sit at the intersection of civil rights claims, governmental immunity defenses, and disputes over what rulings are immediately reviewable. The Fourth Circuit, like other federal appellate courts, polices those boundaries carefully. For practitioners, this filing is a reminder that appellate success begins with jurisdiction. Before investing in merits arguments, counsel must confirm that the order appealed from is final or otherwise reviewable, that deadlines were met, and that no post-judgment or jurisdictional wrinkle undermines the appeal.

For trial lawyers, the lesson is equally practical: preserving a clean record on finality and appeal timing can determine whether an appellate court ever reaches the substance. Threshold motions like this one often decide more than observers expect.

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