For many moons, North Carolina was one of the few jurisdictions in which the losing party at the Court of Appeals could pursue an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court if the party managed to snag a dissenting opinion from...more
Attorneys love rules. And our adversarial legal system functions best when both sides understand and follow common rules. So one Maryland appellate rule has always confounded me because it is routinely construed as meaning...more
Last week’s blog touched briefly on the need to provide appellate courts with an adequate record of trial court proceedings that are the subject of an appeal. Without an adequate record – in almost all cases, a verbatim...more
A dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals has long been a litigant’s Golden Ticket, at least until a recent statutory change. The mere existence of the dissent bestowed an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court of...more
Civil lawyers love written notices of appeal. Have you ever heard a civil attorney say, “I wish I could orally notice an appeal”? Me neither. But the criminal trial bar overwhelmingly give oral notices of appeal in state...more
Can an appellee say that the lower court got it wrong? If so, when? In many appeals, the alignment of interests is clear: the appellant is the party who disagrees with the ruling at issue, and the appellee is the party who...more
“Over there” in this context refers to the Orphans’ Court – theoretically a “division” of the Court of Common Pleas (the trial court) in each Pennsylvania county. Orphans’ Court matters include adoptions, name changes, will...more
The Commission on Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure, created by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2021, and tasked with considering whether the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure (“NRAP”) should be updated, recently filed a...more
When Can I File An Appeal? The short answer to this question is that, in most cases, you can only file an appeal from a final judgment. P.B. § 61-1; State v. Curcio, 191 Conn. 27, 30 (1983) (“The statutory right to...more
Restricted Appeals A restricted appeal is a direct attack on a judgment. To be entitled to a restricted appeal, an appellant must demonstrate several elements described below. ...more
On November 10, 2021, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck down the Acting Secretary of the Department of Health’s Order Directing Face Coverings in School Entities (“Masking Order”) in Corman, et al. v. Acting...more
In many personal injury cases, including products cases, the most significant exposure is pain and suffering or similar damages that cannot readily be measured in dollars. Juries are usually constrained by specific testimony...more
On Oct. 13, the Supreme Court of North Carolina adopted amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. The new rules will impact all appellate cases beginning Jan. 1, 2022....more
Much has been said on this blog about when one should cross-appeal, given the Law Court’s jurisprudence on the topic. I most recently addressed the issue here. As I noted then, there is some tension between the text of the...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the following decision: San Antonio v. Hotels.com, L.P., No. 20-334: Although the general rule in litigation is that each side bears its own attorney’s fees, certain...more
I recently blogged about the need to file a cross-appeal of a favorable judgment in order to preserve an argument that provides alternate grounds for affirmance at the Law Court. As I noted, the Court has declined to reach...more
Previously, I have written about appellate decisions considering the issues presented by pro se litigants and their non-compliance with applicable trial and appellate court rules. (See July 9, 2018 blog and September 18, 2018...more
In fiduciary litigation, parties often file motions that raise important legal issues before trial. For example, parties may file motions on preemption, the statute of limitations, exculpatory clauses, legal duties, legal...more
1. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RECORD. The first question I’m typically asked by a prospective appellate client is “How can we tell the appellate court about all the emails from my ex-husband (credit card receipts, nasty texts) my...more
In January 2020, the Florida Supreme Court adopted three subtle, but significant changes to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure: Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C) was amended to clarify language regarding nonfinal orders denying...more
Florida Supreme Court rewrites the rules, lifting restrictions on the immediate appeal of orders denying absolute, qualified, or sovereign immunity. For those who have kept abreast of the latest opinions issued by the...more
Impact of Amendments to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130 and Florida Highway Patrol v. Jackson on Governmental Entities and Employees If you are a State Agency, City, County, Sheriff’s Office, School Board, Police...more
On January 23, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court changed the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure to create a new class of interlocutory appeals and expand the right to bring other appeals from nonfinal orders....more
Rule 3 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure seems pretty clear. A Notice of Appeal must "designate the judgment or order from which appeal is taken." But what might seem clear on its face isn't always so...more
On Friday, the Supreme Court displayed how busy it has been this summer by releasing 17 authored opinions. Justice Per Curiam (who is fond of affirming/reversing “for the reasons stated in the Court of Appeals”...more