The most crucial step in handling an appeal in the California courts of appeal is the timely filing of the notice of appeal. The notice of appeal is one of the few jurisdictional acts in the appellate world. If you do not file the notice of appeal on time, your appeal will be dismissed and it cannot be reinstated. (Van Beurden Ins. Services, Inc. v. Customized Worldwide Weather Ins. Agency, Inc. (1997) 15 Cal.4th 51, 56.)

Although a notice of appeal is a one-page document, it is arguably the most important document in an appeal. Careful thought and planning must go into drafting and filing this document.

Please diligently review the California Rules of Court for specific information on the time restrictions and requirements for filing a notice of appeal. Among the relevant California Rules of Court for notices of appeal are Rules 8.100, 8.104, 8.108, 8.304, 8.702 and 8.712.

You can file a notice of appeal as soon as the order or judgment you want to appeal is signed by the superior court judge and stamped "Filed" by the court clerk. The judgment is "entered" when it is stamped "Filed." This is also called the "entry of judgment."

As a general rule, you MUST file your notice of appeal no later than the following deadlines:

• For a limited civil case (a civil case involving an amount that is $25,000 or less), you must serve and file your notice of appeal on or before the earliest of:

  1. 30 days after either the trial court clerk or the other side mails you notice that the judgment has been entered in your case or a copy of the judgment stamped "Filed," or

  2. 90 days after the entry of the judgment.

• For an unlimited civil case (such as a civil case involving an amount over $25,000 or a family law case), you must serve and file the notice of appeal on or before the earliest of:

  1. 60 days after either the trial court clerk or the other side serves you with notice that judgment has been entered in your case or a copy of the judgment stamped "Filed," or

  2. 180 days after the entry of the judgment.

You MUST serve AND file your notice of appeal no later than the deadline for your type of case.  There are some extensions of time for notices of appeal, but that is beyond the scope of this article. When in doubt, file your notice of appeal early. If the judgment is changed, you can and should file a second or “amended” notice of appeal from the amended judgment. But do not refrain from timely filing the notice of appeal from the first judgment. “File early and often!”

You can prepare the Notice of Appeal yourself or you can use of these Judicial Council preprinted forms:

• Notice of Appeal/Cross-Appeal (Limited Civil Case) (Form APP-102) if you are appealing a limited civil case (a civil case involving an amount that is $25,000 or less).

• Notice of Appeal/Cross-Appeal (Unlimited Civil Case) (Form APP-002) if you are appealing an unlimited civil case (such as a civil case involving an amount over $25,000 or a family law case).

The notice should be served on the other side (the respondent).

Please note the notice of appeal is filed in the superior court and not the court of appeal.

 Reminder: it is crucial that you meet the deadline for a timely-filed notice of appeal. If your notice of appeal is late, you will not be allowed to appeal.

Questions? Contact us at mary@lehmanappeals.com