CHEYENNE – The appeal of six University of Wyoming sororities against their parent organization, Kappa Kappa Gamma, was dismissed Wednesday for lack of subject matter jurisdiction by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
In an eight-page document outlining the decision, first obtained by WyoFile, 10th Circuit Judge Carolyn B. McHugh said the U.S. District Court in Wyoming has not issued a final order on the case regarding its dismissal, and thus “we grant Appellees’ motion and dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.”
Last month, a three-judge panel heard oral arguments from both sides at the Byron White United States Courthouse in Denver. Before May Mailman, an attorney representing the fraternity, got far in her opening statements that day, McHugh had intervened.
‘Let me interrupt. I have a preliminary question as to whether we even have jurisdiction to hear this case,” McHugh said, later adding that it did not appear to her that the district court’s decision was final.
U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson advised the sorority sisters to amend their complaint to a footnote when he dismissed their case without prejudice on August 25, giving them the opportunity to file a complaint again.
Instead, the sororities appealed to the 10th Circuit, claiming their concerns “cannot be cured” through an amended complaint, the documents show.
To appeal, a district court’s decision must be final. There are some limited exceptions, but McHugh stated that these “limited circumstances… are not present here.”
“Although the court did not grant express authority to make changes at this point, there is no ambiguity as to the court’s intent,” McHugh wrote.
She added that the court denied the defendants’ request to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would have left the sisters with no choice but to appeal. No argument was also made to the court that an amended complaint “would be futile,” according to court documents.
The appeal process for a non-final decision requires the plaintiff to “inform the district court of (their) decision to maintain the original complaint” and obtain a final order, McHugh wrote.
“Because appellants did not avail themselves of this process, we cannot conclude that this court has jurisdiction over this case,” McHugh said in her decision.
However, McHugh left the sororities with a number of options.
The young women could stay on their existing complaint and seek a dismissal with prejudice in district court “so they can perfect an appeal,” or they could amend their complaint and continue their case at the federal district court level .
The case stems from KKG’s admission of a transgender woman, Artemis Langford, to membership in the Laramie fraternity.
The sororities’ lawsuit against Kappa Kappa Gamma and its president, Mary Pat Rooney, alleged that Langford made them feel uncomfortable in the sorority house. Langford was dropped from the lawsuit on appeal.
