The High Bar for Obtaining Appellate Review of an Interlocutory Order

April 27, 2026  |  New York Law Journal

Southern District Judge Lewis J. Liman's recent decision in Williams v. NBC Universal Media LLC underscores the high bar for obtaining interlocutory appellate review under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). Judge Liman denied NBC Universal's bid to appeal a ruling compelling production of Dateline outtakes of an interview with a witness who had recanted portions of her trial testimony. In their latest New York Law Journal article, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello partners Ed Spiro and Chris Harwood analyze the decision, explaining how Judge Liman applied the Second Circuit's Gonzales standard for the journalists' privilege to find the footage likely relevant and not reasonably obtainable from other sources, and then rejected NBCU's arguments for interlocutory review — reasoning that applying an established privilege to particular facts presents mixed questions of law and fact insufficient to justify departure from the final judgment rule.

The High Bar for Obtaining Appellate Review of an Interlocutory Order