Appeals

Education

A comprehensive analysis of your case enables us to fully understand and strategize for your legal needs.

Guidance

Tailored strategies crafted to effectively support and navigate your law case towards a successful resolution.

Advocate

Compassionate advocacy to fight for your family’s rights and protect your best interests in the courtroom.

Appeals

Generally the word “appeal” comes up if you lost at trial. You lost and you feel like justice was not done.

Did the Court abuse its discretion? Was there no substantial evidence to support the ruling such that no reasonable fact finder could have come to the same conclusion? Was there an error in application of the law?

If any of the above apply then you might want to consider an appeal. Generally you have a 60 day deadline from date of entry of your order to appeal it. If you miss this deadline you can’t appeal the order. To preserve it you must file a Notice of Appeal. Not even the best attorney can overcome this requirement.

The appeals process is very complicated and time consuming therefore it is expensive. Most abandon their appeal due to the vast amount of work and time involved. Some however appeal and get their Judgments overturned.

Motion for Reconsideration (Didn’t get the orders you wanted after a hearing?)

Frequently parties in litigation think they get a ‘second bite at the apple’ when they’ve gone through a trial or hearing and didn’t get the orders they want. Well, you don’t. In certain circumstances you can ask a trial court to “reconsider” its ruling. In limited circumstances you can make such a request at the trial level without undergoing the arduous, expensive, and time consuming task of actually filing an appeal.

A party’s application for reconsideration must be based upon new or different facts, circumstances or law.

You must make the request for reconsideration to the he same judge or court that made the order for which reconsideration is sought.

Not only is it difficult to prove ‘new or different facts, circumstances or law’ it is very difficult to prepare and file the motion timely. The motion for reconsideration must be made within 10 days after service upon the party seeking reconsideration of written notice of entry of the order.

Similar motions are called Motions to Vacate Judgment or Motions for New Trial. These are rare but may apply to your case.

 

Motion for Reconsideration (Didn’t get the orders you wanted after a hearing?)

Frequently parties in litigation think they get a ‘second bite at the apple’ when they’ve gone through a trial or hearing and didn’t get the orders they want. Well, you don’t. In certain circumstances you can ask a trial court to “reconsider” its ruling. In limited circumstances you can make such a request at the trial level without undergoing the arduous, expensive, and time consuming task of actually filing an appeal.

 

Motion to Set Aside (Didn’t get the orders you want because you failed to respond or you want to fix or do away with a deal gone wrong?)

Sometimes parties forget to file a Response in their case. In this event they may be “defaulted”. This is because the Court presumes they are impliedly not contesting the action by not filing a Response. You have 30 days to file your Response after being served a summons. In the event you forget to file your Response and the Petitioner defaults you then you may have to move to ‘set aside’ the default.

Sometimes parties make a deal. That deal gets converted into a Court order. Sometimes that order needs to be set aside because of unforeseen circumstances.

Cal. Code of Civ. Procedure § 473(b) empowers the trial court, upon “any terms as may be just,” to relieve a party from a “judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” [CCP § 473(b) (emphasis added)]

Relief under this provision ordinarily is discretionary with the trial court and must be done within six (6) months.

Ask Us Anything. Anytime.