CHEYENNE — The appealed case of six University of Wyoming sorority sisters against their parent organization, Kappa Kappa Gamma, was rejected Wednesday for lack of subject matter jurisdiction by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

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 did not issue a final order on the case in its dismissal, thus “we grant Appellees’ motion and dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.”

Last month, a three-judge panel heard oral arguments from both parties at Byron White United States Courthouse in Denver. Before May Mailman, an attorney representing the sorority sisters, got far in her opening statements that day, McHugh had interjected.

“Let me interrupt. I have a preliminary question as to whether we have jurisdiction to hear this case at all,” McHugh said, later adding it didn’t seem to her the district court’s decision was final.

U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson advised the sorority sisters to amend their complaint in a footnote when he dismissed their case without prejudice on Aug. 25, which gave them an option to refile.

Instead, the sorority sisters appealed their case to the 10th Circuit, claiming their concerns “cannot (be) cure(d)” through an amended complaint, according to documents.

In order to appeal a case, a district court’s decision must be final. There are some limited exceptions, but McHugh stated those “limited circumstances … are not present here.”

“Here, although the district court did not expressly grant leave to amend, there is no ambiguity regarding the court’s intent,” McHugh wrote.

She added that the district court denied the defendants’ request to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would have left the sisters with no option but to appeal. There was also no argument made in the district court if an amended complaint “would be futile,” according to court documents.

The appeals process for a non-final decision requires the plaintiff to “notify the district court of (their) decision to stand on the original complaint” and get a final order, McHugh wrote.

“Because Appellants did not avail themselves of this process, we cannot conclude that this court has jurisdiction over this matter,” McHugh stated in her decision.

However, McHugh did leave the sorority sisters with a couple of options.

The young women could stand on their existing complaint and seek a dismissal with prejudice by the district court “so that they may 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 sorority in Laramie.

The sorority sisters’ lawsuit against Kappa Kappa Gamma and its president, Mary Pat Rooney, claimed Langford made them feel uncomfortable in the sorority house. Langford was dropped from the lawsuit on appeal.