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Civil, Family, and Administrative Appeals and Writs

Steps for Filing an Appeal

We recommend consulting with a Certified Appellate Specialist before filing an appeal because any missteps can result in your notice of appeal being rejected and dismissal of the appeal without further recourse. The following steps are not dispositive and may change depending on your particular circumstances.

The time for filing an appeal on time can be complicated and is beyond the scope of this general information about the steps for filing an appeal. Generally, the notice of appeal must be served and filed 60 days after notice of entry of judgment, or in certain circumstances, such as where there is a motion to vacate the judgment or move for a new trial, 30 days after the denial of the motion to vacate the judgment or for a new trial by order or operation of law. It is crucial to the validity of your notice of appeal that it is timely filed. Since every appeal presents unique situations, no treatise can cover each and every situation. Therefore, we recommend that you consult with a certified appellate specialist in order to ensure you file your appeal on time.

In order to file your appeal, you can use an attorney drafted form or a judicial counsel form: APP-002 (http://courts.ca.gov/forms.htm?filter=APP) Any document, including a notice of appeal, may be deposited in a court's drop box up to and including 4:00 p.m. on a court day and is deemed to have been deposited for filing on that day. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.210.)

The current filing fee is $775 (check online or with the trial court to make sure the fees have not increased) and a $100 deposit required by GC sec. 68926 & 68926.1. Checks are made payable to the Clerk of the Superior Court. If you don't pay the filing fees with the notice of appeal, then the clerk will send a letter and state that the appeal will be dismissed if you don't pay the filing fee within a certain period of time. (Rule 8.100.)

Within 10 days of the filing of the notice of appeal, the Designation of Record and a notice designating reporter's transcripts must be served and filed. You can make your own form or use judicial form APP-003. You can elect to use an appendix instead of a clerk's transcript. This procedure is time consuming for counsel, but it should be considered if the clerk's transcript is voluminous and contains matters that are irrelevant to the appeal or if the clerk's office is so overburdened that it is likely to take months for it to prepare a clerk's transcript.

The designation of reporters' transcripts must designate the date of each proceeding and must be served on each known court reporter. You must deposit the approximate cost of transcribing the proceedings in the amount of $650/day and $325 per fraction of day (less than 3 hours) or by obtaining an estimate from the court reporter.

After the appeal is filed, the clerk will mail a Civil Case Information Statement (form APP-004) to the plaintiff with a notice that the statement must be filed within 10 days.

After an appeal is filed and transmitted to the appellate court, it may be reviewed to determine whether it qualifies for mediation if the court has a mediation program. Information should be on the court website (www.courts.ca.gov). Generally, an appeal is stayed while the matter is being considered for mediation and remains stayed until it is determined that the case does not qualify for mediation or mediation is complete.

If you decide not to continue with the appeal, for instance if there has been a settlement, an abandonment of the appeal may be filed if the record has not been filed. Otherwise, you may need to file a motion to get permission of the court in order to dismiss the appeal.

Disclaimer:

By providing this information, we do not establish a lawyer-client relationship as this may not be proper in the internet environment. We have attempted to employ our best efforts to present and maintain the information provided herein but do not warrant that the information is complete or accurate. We do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. The information contained herein is not to be used as a basis for advice to clients or applied to any particular matters. Counsel should be consulted directly as to the current law applicable to particular situations. We therefore issue a general disclaimer but encourage you to seek direct legal advice.