Arnold v. United States ex rel. W.B. Guimarin & Co

In Arnold v. United States ex rel. W.B. Guimarin & Co., 263 U.S. 427, 44 S.Ct. 144, 68 L.Ed. 371 (1923), the Supreme Court ruled that a Court of Appeals order which confirmed one subcontractor's claim against a contractor's bond, but required the district court to determine the validity of other creditors' claims against the bond, was not final. The Court recognized that the order settled the validity and amount of the subcontractor's claim, but held that it was not final because it does not determine the ultimate amount which [the plaintiff] may recover on the bond, the amounts which the intervening creditors may recover, or the amount of the ultimate liability of the defendants on the bond; it adjudicates neither the amount of the claims which are to be finally allowed against the fund created by the bond, nor the proportionate share of each creditor in such fund if inadequate to pay the amounts due all the creditors. (263 U.S. at 433, 44 S.Ct. at 147.)