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Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§29 Appeals

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE › § 29

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When the United States sues under the 1890 anti‑trust law or similar laws and asks the court for equitable relief (like orders to do or stop doing something), appeals from a final judgment must go to the U.S. court of appeals under 28 U.S.C. §§1291 and 2107. Appeals of non‑final (interlocutory) orders may be taken only under 28 U.S.C. §1292(a)(1) and §2107. A court of appeals decision can be reviewed by the Supreme Court by writ of certiorari under 28 U.S.C. §1254(1). A party can ask to take a final‑judgment appeal directly to the Supreme Court instead of the court of appeals. The party must apply within 15 days after filing the notice of appeal, and the district judge who decided the case must enter an order saying the matter is of general public importance and file that order within 30 days after the notice of appeal. If the order is filed, the Supreme Court will either decide the appeal or deny the direct appeal and send the case to the court of appeals to proceed as if it had been filed there first.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §29

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as otherwise expressly provided by this section, in every civil action brought in any district court of the United States under the Act entitled “An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies”, approved July 2, 1890, or any other Acts having like purpose that have been or hereafter may be enacted, in which the United States is the complainant and equitable relief is sought, any appeal from a final judgement entered in any such action shall be taken to the court of appeals pursuant to section 1291 and 2107 of title 28. Any appeal from an interlocutory order entered in any such action shall be taken to the court of appeals pursuant to section 1292(a)(1) and 2107 of title 28 but not otherwise. Any judgment entered by the court of appeals in any such action shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court upon a writ of certiorari as provided in section 1254(1) of title 28.
(b)An appeal from a final judgment pursuant to subsection (a) shall lie directly to the Supreme Court, if, upon application of a party filed within fifteen days of the filing of a notice of appeal, the district judge who adjudicated the case enters an order stating that immediate consideration of the appeal by the Supreme Court is of general public importance in the administration of justice. Such order shall be filed within thirty days after the filing of a notice of appeal. When such an order is filed, the appeal and any cross appeal shall be docketed in the time and manner prescribed by the rules of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall thereupon either (1) dispose of the appeal and any cross appeal in the same manner as any other direct appeal authorized by law, or (2) in its discretion, deny the direct appeal and remand the case to the court of appeals, which shall then have jurisdiction to hear and determine the same as if the appeal and any cross appeal therein had been docketed in the court of appeals in the first instance pursuant to subsection (a).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Act entitled “An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies”, approved July 2, 1890, referred to in subsec. (a), is known as the Sherman Act, and is classified to sections 1 to 7 of this title. Codification Section was previously set out in both this section and in section 45 of former Title 49, Transportation.

Amendments

1974—Pub. L. 93–528 substituted provisions for appeals to the court of appeals from civil actions in district courts where equitable relief is sought, review by the Supreme Court of judgments of courts of appeals, and for direct appeals to the Supreme Court of cases involving general public importance, for provisions that appeals from final judgments of district courts lie to the Supreme Court only. 1948—Act
June 25, 1948, amended section generally to strike out provisions relating to time for appeal, procedure, etc. See section 2101 and 2109 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. 1944—Act
June 9, 1944, provided for certification of case to circuit court of appeals when there was no quorum of Justices of the Supreme Court qualified to participate in the consideration of the case and for designation of circuit judges in the event of disqualification from hearing the case.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Act Mar. 3, 1911, which transferred the powers and duties of the circuit courts to the district courts, substituted “district court” for “circuit court”.

Effective Date

of 1974 Amendment Pub. L. 93–528, § 7, Dec. 21, 1974, 88 Stat. 1710, provided that: “The amendment made by section 5 of this Act [amending this section] shall not apply to an action in which a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court has been filed on or before the fifteenth day following the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 21, 1974]. Appeal in any such action shall be taken pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of the Act of February 11, 1903 (32 Stat. 823), as amended (15 U.S.C. 29; [former] 49 U.S.C. 45) which were in effect on the day preceding the date of enactment of this Act.”

Effective Date

of 1948 Amendment section 38 of act June 25, 1948, provided that the amendment made by that act is effective Sept. 1, 1948.

Effective Date

of 1944 AmendmentAct
June 9, 1944, ch. 239, 58 Stat. 272, provided in part: “This Act [this section] shall apply to every case pending before the Supreme Court of the United States on the date of its enactment [
June 9, 1944].”

Short Title

Act Feb. 11, 1903, which enacted section 28 and 29 of this title, is commonly known as the “Expediting Act”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 29

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73