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What are Appeals and When are They Filed?
The
primary objective of an appeal is to give an aggrieved party
recourse to a superior tribunal for the correction of the judgment
of an inferior court. In most jurisdictions, a party to the
litigation has an unqualified right to appeal from an adverse
final judgment without the need to demonstrate a direct monetary
interest.
Generally, an appellate court is bound to adjudge a case before
it in accordance with the law existing at the time of its
decision. However, if the law has changed since the suit was
filed, the court may have to apply the law as it existed at
the time the suit was filed.
Specific time restrictions are placed on a party seeking
to appeal the decision of a lower court. In most jurisdictions,
these restrictions may be 30-60 days depending on the type
of appeal that is filed. In one type of appeal, a party can
suspend an action to collect the judgment until the court
of appeal can decide the case. This may require the appealing
party to post a bond to protect the non appealing party from
missing a chance to collect the judgment. In some jurisdictions,
this is known as a suspensive appeal, or an appeal which suspends
the execution of the judgment. This is the type of appeal
that has a shorter period, in most jurisdictions, 30 days
to file.
The second type of appeal allows the party who received the
judgment to attempt to collect on the judgment while the appeals
court decides the issues. In some jurisdictions, this is known
as a devolutive appeal. The deadline for filing this type
of appeal is usually longer than the deadline to file a suspensive
appeal, usually 60 days.
In most jurisdictions, the court of appeal is not at liberty
to reverse any decision of the lower court (either a verdict
from a jury or judge), even if they disagree with the verdict.
The issue to be resolved is not whether the jury or judge
was wrong, but whether the conclusions were reasonable. A
lower court’s findings of fact cannot be reversed on
appeal unless the appealing party, (the appellant), demonstrates
that a reasonable basis does not exist for the finding of
the trial court and the finding is clearly wrong. Thus, a
court of appeal will usually defer to the trial court regarding
factual findings and not reverse the decision unless it is
manifestly erroneous.
This is also true with respect to the determination of fault.
An appellate court will generally not disturb a lower court’s
allocation of fault between the parties unless it too is clearly
wrong or manifestly erroneous.
An appellate court will review a lower court’s determination
of law without giving the deference it gives to issues of
fact. Thus, unlike factual determinations, if the court of
appeals disagrees with the lower court’s application
of law, it can reverse the decision.
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