Wirtz v. City of South Bend

Ct. of Appeals lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider merits of Dist. Ct.'s grant of plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction in case seeking to enjoin defendant-City from gifting public property to religious high school, as well as Dist. Ct.'s denial of defendant's motion to modify said injunction where: (1) issuance of injunction, as well as denial of motion to modify took place outside applicable timeframe for filing notice of appeal to either interlocutory order; and (2) although instant notice of appeal was timely filed with respect to entry of final judgment, which dissolved said injunction after sale of said property to religious high school, said entry did not serve to confer jurisdiction to consider instant appeal since defendant did not challenge substance of final order. Moreover, while defendant could ordinarily raise issues with respect to entry of instant interlocutory orders upon entry of final order, it could not do so here, where defendant had actually requested dissolution of injunction. Ct. also noted that any appeal regarding instant interlocutory orders was moot where defendant did not seek reversal of sale of land to religious high school.