STEP BY STEP GUIDE

TO

CIVIL APPEALS

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 OUTLINE: At a Glance

I INTRODUCTION - About Appeals Generally

A What an Appeal Will Not Do
i No New Evidence
ii No Reweighing of Evidence
B What the Court of Appeal Will Do

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT:

II STEP ONE: GETTING THE APPEAL ON TRACK

A. Notice of Appeal-Where and When to file
B. Filing Fees, or Fee Waiver
III STEP TWO: File the Civil Case Information Sheet (CCIS)
A. Due 15 days after appellant receives the form in the mail.
IV STEP THREE: Perfect the Appeal—Designate the Record
A. Designation of the Record
i Documents, Documentary evidence:
a. Clerk’s Transcript
 b. Appellant’s Appendix
c. Joint Appendix
ii Oral proceedings (testimony, arguments in the
courtroom)
a. Reporter’s Transcript
b. Agreed Statement
c. Settled Statement

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL:

IV STEP FOUR: ARGUING THE ISSUES; BRIEFING

A. Certificate of Interested Parties
B. Record Correction or Augmentation
C. Briefs
i Appellant’s Opening Brief
ii Respondent’s Brief
iii Appellant’s Reply Brief

VI STEP FIVE: Argument and Decision

A. Oral Argument
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 B. Decision

VII STEP SIX: Post Decision

A. Petition for Rehearing
B. Petition for Review
I. Introduction
This Step by Step Guide to handling your own appeal is
intended for use in appeals from judgments in unlimited civil
cases. An unlimited civil case is one where the amount in
controversy is more than $25,000, or a case involving Family Law
(including child custody), Real Property (other than unlawful
detainer actions), Probate, or Injunctive Relief.
If your case involved an amount in controversy of less than
$25,000, your appeal will be decided by the Appellate Division of
the Superior Court, and is subject to special rules governing those
appeals.
The purpose of this Guide is explain the process of appeals
in unlimited civil cases, that will be decided by the California Court
of Appeal, and, more specifically, the Court of Appeal for the
Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, which is located at 3389
Twelfth Street, Riverside, California, 92501.
There are two distinct parts of an appeal: (a) the steps taken
in the Superior Court to “perfect” your appeal, i.e., making sure
your appeal is filed, fees (if any) are paid, and designating the
record on appeal; and (b) the steps taken in the Court of Appeal
to present your arguments to the reviewing court, persuade it that
the outcome of your case was wrong, and the error was so
serious that reversal is necessary.

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 Appeals are governed by a series of rules, found in the
California Rules of Court. The appellate rules are found in Title 8,
and you can find all the rules on the court’s website:
[Link]. Across the top of the page is a ribbon with
tabs, and one of those tabs will lead you to the Rules of Court and
the Judicial Council Forms. Except for the briefs and some
motions, there is a form you can use.
Before you get started, it is important to understand the
limitations of an appeal, and the things a reviewing court cannot
do.
A. WHAT THE COURT OF APPEAL WILL NOT DO
i. No New Evidence
First, the reviewing court just reviews what happened in the
trial court. It does not take new evidence, so you cannot call
witnesses to testify or submit declarations that were not presented
in the trial court, to support your claims. The court will only
consider –review– the evidence that was admitted in the trial
court, or the documents, evidence, and arguments that were filed,
lodged, or presented there. An appeal is not a second chance to
try your case.
The party who files the notice of appeal is called the
Appellant; the party against whom the appeal is taken (the party
who prevailed in the trial court) is called the Respondent.
ii No Reweighing of Evidence or Credibility
 On appeal, the reviewing court cannot see the witnesses
who testified or see how the jury or the trial judge reacted to the
evidence. It reviews only the appellate record (see below, Section
B) to determine if a serious legal error happened. So the Court of
Appeal relies on the trial court’s determinations as to the
credibility of the witnesses and will not reconsider it.
Remember, the fact that only a single witness testified to one
thing while two witnesses testified to something else, does not
mean the judgment must be reversed. If the single witness was
considered to be more credible, that testimony is sufficient to
support the findings. The Court of Appeal will not reweigh the
evidence.

B. WHAT THE COURT OF APPEAL WILL DO

I. Presumes the Trial Court Judgment is Correct
On appeal, the reviewing court presumes that the judgment
is correct, and that no mistakes were made. This means that the
appellant has the burden to prove that error occurred, and that the
error was “prejudicial,” which means that without that error, there
would have been a different outcome.
2. Review is Limited to the Record on Appeal
The Court of Appeal was not present at your motion or trial,
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so it has no way to know what happened. For this reason, in order
to convince the Court of Appeal that your judgment must be
reversed, you must provide a “record” of what happened, and, in
your briefs (more about that below), you will explain why it was
erroneous and why reversal is necessary. More about this in Step
III.
 STEP 1:

GETTING THE APPEAL

ON TRACK

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 STEP ONE: THE NOTICE OF APPEAL
II FILE THE NOTICE OF APPEAL ON TIME
A Form No. APP-002
[Link]
An appeal is started with the filing of a notice of appeal,
which must be filed on time, usually within 60 days of the
judgment or order appealed from. ([Link] of Ct., rule 8.104.) A
timely notice of appeal is considered “jurisdictional,” which means
if it is filed even one day late, there is no hope for an appeal.
For unlimited civil cases (involving more than $25,000), it is
safest to assume that you have only 60 days from the date the
appealable judgment was made. There are some exceptions, but
the exceptions are confusing. It is better to be safe than sorry, so
file it within 60 days, just in case. A premature filing will be
accepted and prevent a default, whereas a late filing cannot be
fixed.
The filing fee for a notice of appeal is $775, and the Notice of
Appeal must be filed in the Superior Court, although you may file
at any branch. However, to expedite processing, parties are
encouraged to file notices of appeal and related documents in the
Appeals Department located at the Hall of Justice in Riverside,
4100 Main Street, Riverside, California, 92501. (For San
Bernardino Appeals, the notice of appeal may be filed in the
branch where your case was heard, or you may file the initial
document at the Appeals Division, located at 8303 Haven
Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730.)
You must also serve a copy of the notice of appeal, as well
as almost all other filings, on the opposing party. Proof of Service
may be done by any person who is 18 years of age or older, and
who is not a party to the action.
(See [Link]
If you meet certain financial criteria, you may be able to get a
Waiver of Fees and Costs, pursuant to California Rules of Court,
rule 8.26, which will cover filing fees and other court costs that
you may run up. (See B., below.)
B. Filing Fees, or Fee Waiver
To file a notice of appeal, an appellant must pay a $775 filing
fee, under Government Code sections 68926 and 68926.1(b). If
you meet certain financial criteria, you may apply for a fee waiver
under rule 8.26 of the California Rules of Court. See
[Link]
However, a fee waiver will not cover the fee for a reporter’s
transcript, and if you lose, it will not relieve you of the need to pay
the prevailing party’s costs. The Waiver of Fees and Costs is
confidential, and is not served on any other party.
The appellant must also deposit $100 with the superior court
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clerk under Government Code section 68926.1, unless the
deposit has been waived. See rule 8.26. The application filed in
the superior court with the notice of appeal will be effective
through the appeal.
C. CCIS- Civil Case Information Sheet
(See [Link]
Within 15 days after the superior court clerk sends the
notification of the filing of the notice of appeal, the appellant must
file in the Court of Appeal a Civil Case Information Sheet.
([Link] of Ct. rule 8.100(g).) You must attach a copy of the
judgment or appealed order that shows the date it was entered or
filed. This document is critical, although not in the same way as
the notice of appeal. If it is not filed on time, your appeal could be
dismissed. If that happens, you will have to make a motion to
obtain relief from the default and to reinstate your appeal.
The CCIS includes basic information about your case,
including the date of the judgment or appealable order, the nature
of the case, the nature of the judgment or appealable order, and
other information.
From this document, the Court of Appeal can determine
whether the appeal was filed on time and whether the judgment or
order appealed from is appealable. This information is important
because the deadline for filing the notice of appeal is
jurisdictional, and because not all judgments or orders are
appealable.

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 Step 2:

PERFECTING THE
RECORD
III. Designate the Record on Appeal
(See [Link] for
Appellant’s Designation. See
[Link] for
Respondent’s Designation.)
Within 10 days of filing the Notice of Appeal, the appellant
must designate the record on appeal. (Cal. Rules of Ct., rule
8.121(a); Form No. APP-003) The completed form is filed in the
Superior Court. This Step is critically important, because the
Court of Appeal will have no information about your case except
for what you have transmitted to it. When you get to the briefing
stage, you must cite to the record to support your assertions
about what happened in the trial court.
There are three aspects of the record: (a) the record of
written documents from the superior court’s files, (b) the record of
oral proceedings, that is, a verbatim record of what was said in
the trial court proceedings, and (c) the exhibits presented in the
trial court.
The trial court probably considered documents that were
filed in the court’s file (e.g., the complaint, petition, motion, or
other pleading, as well as other documents), evidence that was
admitted (e.g., documentary exhibits, other physical or
demonstrative evidence), oral testimony, and arguments of the
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parties. These items, when properly designated and transmitted
to the Court of Appeal, are the “record on appeal.”
To be successful on appeal, you must present the relevant
documents from the court files, any documentary evidence, and
transcripts or summaries of the oral proceedings, which show the
error. These items, when properly designated and transmitted to
the Court of Appeal, are the “record on appeal.”
A. Record of Written Documents
1. Clerk’s Transcript (Cal. Rules of Court, rule
8.122)
If you designate a Clerk’s Transcript on your form to
designate the record, the clerk will then copy the designated
documents into a Clerk’s Transcript. This will require the payment
of money, depending on the number of pages, unless a fee
waiver has been obtained.
2. Appellant’s Appendix ([Link] of Ct., rule
8.124)
Instead of a clerk’s transcript, an appellant can prepare an
Appellant’s Appendix. The appellant’s appendix is a bound
collection of conformed copies of the documents that were filed
that you need to support your case. The Rules of Court detail
what must be included (rule 8.124(b)), and how the Appendix is to
be compiled. To be conformed, a pleading or motion must have a
court file stamp on it proving that it was filed. A Register of
Actions (docket) may be obtained, which will include the minute
orders made by the court clerk.
B. Record of Oral Proceedings
1. Reporter’s Transcript ([Link] of Ct., rule
8.130)
If you arranged to have a court reporter at your trial court
hearing, you may obtain a reporter’s transcript. This costs money,
and you will need to make arrangements with the court reporter to
get and pay for the transcript.
However, in the years since the recession, many trial courts
do not make court reporters available unless a request is made by
the parties in advance of their hearing or trial. For this reason,
except in Family Law matters, most civil cases are not reported. If
there was no court reporter, there can be no reporter’s transcript.
If you did not have a court reporter, you must use another
acceptable way of letting the Court of Appeal know what
happened in the courtroom. There are a couple of ways to do this:
a. A Settled Statement on appeal
([Link] of Ct., rule 8.137), or
b. An Agreed Statement on appeal
([Link] of Ct., rule 8.134)
An agreed statement is pretty rare because each party will
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want to present the facts as favorably as possible to his or her
advantage. This would take too long.
A better solution is to prepare a Settled Statement. A settled
statement is a summary of everything that happened in the trial
court where your motion or trial was held. The procedure involves
indicating your intent to file a settled statement on your notice of
designation of record; then, within 10 days, making a motion to
use a settled statement instead of a reporter’s transcript (this
motion is filed in the superior court). The motion tells the superior
court why you need a settled statement, and must be supported
by a showing that:
i. A substantial cost saving will result and the
statement can be settled without significantly
burdening opposing parties or the court;
ii. The designated oral proceedings were not
reported or cannot be transcribed; or
iii. The appellant is unable to pay for a reporter’s
transcript and funds are not available from the
Transcript Reimbursement Fund (see rule
8.130(c)).
If the motion is granted, you will then prepare a Proposed
Settled Statement, which must be filed in the superior court within
30 days after the order granting the motion. The proposed
statement is a condensed narrative that describes all the
testimony or other oral proceedings that the appellant believes
necessary for the appeal.
Recently, a form has been created for the Proposed
Statement on Appeal. (APP-14) The opposing side can then
propose changes, amendments, or enlargements, depending on
whether it disagrees with your recollection of the events, or wants
to add something that you did not include.
The opposing side can propose changes within 20 days after
you have filed your proposed statement, and may propose
amendments, or enlargements, depending on whether it
disagrees with your recollection of the events, or wants to add
something that you did not include.
When the proposed statements are filed, the clerk will set a
date for a settlement hearing by the trial judge that is no later than
10 days after the respondent’s proposed amendments, or when
the time for respondent to do so has expired. Sometimes the
parties are in agreement about the proposed statement. If that
happens, a stipulation that the original proposed statement is
correct can be filed. That stipulation is the same as a judge’s
certificate.
If there is no stipulation, there will be a hearing, where the
trial court “settles” the record, using the summaries provided by
the parties, as well as its own notes. Once it settles the record,
the judge will tell the appellant the due date for preparing, filing,

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and serving the actual Settled Statement.
The form is available on the Judicial Branch website and
includes instructions on how to complete and filed it. (APP-014) it.
It may be found at:
[Link]
After the record has been designated, and the reporter’s
transcript (if there is one), appendix or settled statement has been
filed with the superior court clerk’s office, the clerk of the court will
transmit the record to the Court of Appeal. You will then receive a
notice from the Clerk of the Court of Appeal informing you that the
record has been filed, your appeal has been perfected.
After this point, all documents are filed in the Fourth District
Court of Appeal, Division Two, located at 3389 Twelfth Street,
Riverside, CA 92501.
 Step 3:

CIVIL CASE INFORMATION

SHEET

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III. CCIS- Civil Case Information Sheet
(See [Link]
Once the case has been certified to the Court of
Appeal, the clerk will mail you a form, called the Civil Case
Information sheet. This document is critical, although not
like the notice of appeal, and if it is not completed and filed
within 15 days. If it is not filed on time, your appeal could
be dismissed. If that happens, you will have to make a
motion to obtain relief from the default and to reinstate
your appeal.
The CCIS includes basic information about your case,
including the date of the judgment or appealable order, the
nature of the case, the nature of the judgment or
appealable order, and other information. From this
document, the Court of Appeal can determine whether the
appeal was filed on time and whether the judgment or
order appealed from is appealable.
You must attach a copy of the judgment or order to
the CCIS.
This information is important because the deadline for
filing the notice of appeal is jurisdictional, and because not
all judgments or orders are appealable.

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 STEP 4:

ARGUING THE
ISSUES
IV. BRIEFING THE ISSUES
A. Overview
On appeal, a party who is appealing (the appellant) must
persuade or convince the Court of Appeal that the trial court made
an error, either in making a ruling on a motion, or in making an
incorrect judgment after trial. The way in which the party
persuades the Court that error was committed (or not) by the trial
court is through arguments in the appellate briefs. Briefs are filed
by all parties to an appeal, and there are several types of briefs.
In this section we will deal only with the most common briefs.
The California Rules of Court explain what should be
included in each brief, when it should be filed, and how it should
be formatted.
Note: whatever your first filing is, a Certificate of Interested
Entities or Parties must accompany that document. This
Certificate is used to tell the reviewing court whether you own a
business or control another entity that is involved in the matter
pending on appeal. The Certificate of Interested Parties is
reviewed by the court to determine if any of the justices may have
a conflict of interest that requires him or her to be recused.
B. Appellant’s Opening Brief
1. Form and Contents
An Appellant’s Opening Brief (AOB) must (a) Begin with a
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table of contents and table of authorities separately listing cases,
constitutions, statutes, court rules, and other authorities cited; (b)
State each point under a separate heading or subheading
summarizing the point, and support each point by argument and,
if possible, by citation of authority; and (c) Support any reference
to a matter in the record by a citation to the volume and page
number of the record where that matter appears. ([Link] of
Ct., rule 8.204(a)(1).)
So, for instance, if you want to tell the court of appeal that
you objected to evidence at the trial, you must find the part of the
reporter’s transcript or settled statement where that objection can
be found.
An appellant’s opening brief must also: (a) State the nature
of the action, the relief sought in the trial court, and the judgment
or order appealed from; (b) State that the judgment appealed from
is final, or explain why the order appealed from is appealable; and
(c) Provide a summary of the significant facts limited to matters in
the record. The requirements for the form of the brief are also
found in rule 8.204.
A brief produced on a computer may not exceed 14,000
words, including footnotes. A brief produce by a typewriter may
not exceed 50 pages. To show you complied with these limits,
you must include a Word Count Certificate (also called a
Certificate of Compliance) at the end of your brief. The table of
contents and table of authorities, the cover, the Certificate of
Interested Entities or Persons and the signature block, are not
counted. Word processing programs can provide the word count
information.
The appellant, who is challenging a judgment or order made
by the trial court, has the burden of persuading the Court of
Appeal to change the trial court’s judgment or order. The
appellant files the first brief, the Opening Brief. It is due 40 days
after the Court of Appeal notifies the parties that the record on
appeal has been filed. If an appendix has been designated
instead of a Clerk’s Transcript, the opening brief and the appendix
are both due 70 days from the date the appellant filed the record
designation, electing to use an appendix.
You should write a separate argument for each error that
you believe the trial court committed. You will need to support
your legal position with authorities, that is, citation to published
legal decisions involving similar legal issues. This means you will
need to do research. The Riverside County Law Library is located
at 3989 Lemon Street, Riverside, CA 92501.
Once your brief is completed, it must be filed within the
deadline. Do not wait until the last minute. If you are representing
yourself on appeal (that is, you do not have an attorney), you
have the choice between filing a physical version of your brief, or
e-filing.

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 2. Standards of Review and Prejudice
In the argument portion of the brief, the appellant must show
the Court of Appeal that the trial court (a) committed legal error,
and (b) that the error is prejudicial. This means that not every
mistake made by the trial court will result in a reversal. Some
errors are trivial and do not affect the outcome of the case. So in
explaining your points, focus on showing that a serious mistake
occurred, and that the mistake was so serious it affected the
outcome. This is called “prejudicial error.”
i. Standards of Review
The way that an appellant demonstrates that legal error
occurred is by telling the Court of Appeal which “Standard of
Review” should be applied. A “Standard of Review” tells the
reviewing court whether to give the trial court’s ruling a lot of
deference, or whether the reviewing court can draw its own legal
conclusions. There are three primary Standards of Review: (a)
Abuse of Discretion; (b) De Novo (also called Independent); and
(c) Substantial Evidence.
(a) Abuse of Discretion
In many areas, a trial court has broad discretion to make a
ruling. Matters relating to the admissibility of evidence in a
hearing, matters of child custody, support, etc., are decisions a
court has discretion to make. To demonstrate that such a ruling
was erroneous on appeal, you must establish that the court
abused its discretion. Be aware that a lot deference is given to the
trial court, and its rulings are presumed to be correct. The
appellant must show that the ruling was arbitrary, or contrary to
the facts and law, and outside the bounds of reason.
(b) De Novo, or Independent
If an issue involves a pure issue of law, such as the
interpretation of a contract or a statute, or whether a ruling or a
statute was unconstitutional, the Court of Appeal can decide for
itself if a legal error occurred. In such issues, the Court of Appeal
is not bound by the decision of the trial court and is not required to
give that ruling deference.
(c) Substantial Evidence
Some issues involve a question of whether there is sufficient
evidence to support the trial court judgment or order. In such
cases, the reviewing court uses the Substantial Evidence test.
That test asks whether, based on all the evidence in the record,
there is substantial evidence to support the judgment as a matter
of law. This standard of review assumes that the trial court was in
the best position to determine the credibility of witnesses, so the
Court of Appeal cannot say that it would have come to a different
conclusion because the testimony or other evidence admitted at
trial was weak.
Once you have learned, through research, which standard of
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review applies to the particular issue you will raise, you must point
out why the trial court’s judgment or ruling was wrong using that
particular standard. Remember: for every statement of law you
make in your brief, there must be a citation to appropriate
authority supporting that assertion, whether it is a published court
decision, statute, constitution, or rule.
ii. Standards of Prejudice
Article VI, section 13 of the California Constitution states that
no judgment shall be reversed unless the reviewing court
concludes the error has resulted in a “miscarriage of justice.” For
this reason, not every legal error requires reversal; some
mistakes are considered so minor that they would not make a
difference in the outcome of the case. If that is the case, the Court
of Appeal will find that there was “harmless error” and will affirm.
There, to insure a greater chance of success, in addition to
pointing out the appropriate standard of review, you will also need
to inform the reviewing court what Standard of Prejudice to apply,
in order to determine if the legal error is serious enough to
warrant reversal.

C. Respondent’s Brief
The respondent’s brief is due 30 days after the appellant’s
opening brief is filed. (CRC Rule 8.212(a).) There is no five-day
extension if the appellant’s brief was filed by mail. (Code of Civil
Procedure, section 1013(a).)

The respondent’s brief addresses the facts and legal

arguments raised in the opening brief, and gives legal reasons
why the trial court’s judgment or ruling was correct. The
respondent may point out whether the judgment or order that the
appellant has challenged is not final or appealable, and whether
the notice of appeal was filed on time.

The Respondent’s Brief follows the same general format as

the Appellant’s Opening Brief, except the respondent does not
need to include a Statement of Appealability. Therefore, it will
include a cover, table of contents, table of authorities, statement
of the case, statement of facts, argument, conclusion, word count
certificate (certificate of compliance), and proof of service. A short
example of a respondent’s brief is included in the Appendix to this
handbook.

Even though the Appellant has included a statement of case

and facts, the respondent needs to make sure the reviewing court
receives an accurate summary of what happened in the trial court.
If you totally agree with the way the appellant has set out the
facts, you may ask to adopt those facts as your own. However,
31
because appellant may have presented the facts from the
standpoint of his or her own point of view, you may well want to
present your own version of what happened. Like the appellant,
you need to cite to the appellate record for every fact.
The respondent’s brief should “respond” to the arguments
raised by the appellant and demonstrate that the ruling of the trial
court was correct. In any case, you should not rely totally on the
legal references and authorities made by the appellant in the
opening brief. You should research the law yourself so you can
point to any erroneous legal assertions made by the appellant.
The locations of the county law libraries for Riverside and San
Bernardino Counties are set out above.
D. Appellant’s Reply Brief
The purpose of the Appellant’s Reply Brief is to “reply” or “rebut”
assertions or arguments made in the Respondent’s Brief. The
reply brief is due 20 days after the respondent’s brief is filed (CRC
8.212(a)), and there is no five-day extension if respondent’s brief
was served by mail, under Code of Civil Procedure, section
1013(a).
The appellant gets the opportunity to file a reply brief
because the appellant has the burden of persuasion on appeal.
However, it is an optional brief. If appellant does decide to file a
reply brief, it will be limited to matters raised in the respondent’s
brief.
 The Appellant’s Reply Brief is usually the last brief filed
before the court calendars the case for oral argument, or takes it
under submission (where oral argument is waived). No new
issues may be raised for the first time in the reply brief, because it
would deprive the respondent of an opportunity to respond to
them. An example of an Appellant’s Reply Brief is included in the
Appendix to this handbook.

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 STEP 5:

ORAL ARGUMENT
& DECISION
 A. Oral Argument
After the Appellant’s Reply Brief has been filed, or, if the
appellant did not file a reply brief, after the time for filing the reply
brief has elapsed, the clerk of the Court of Appeal will send a
notice to the parties and ask if either side wishes to orally argue
the cause. Attached to the notice, there will be a tentative
opinion, indicating the Court of Appeal’s preliminary view of the
merits of your case.
The notice will give you a deadline by which you must tell the
court whether you wish to orally argue your matter. If you request
oral argument, the clerk will notify you of the date, time and place
of oral argument, at least 20 days before the argument date.
(CRC, rule 8.256(b).)
Oral argument is limited to 15 minutes per side in Division Two
of the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The appellant, petitioner, or
moving party has the right to open and close. (CRC, rule
8.256(c).) If you are the appellant, you will want to reserve a few
of your allotted 15 minutes, so that you have time to respond to
arguments made by your opponent. Appellant’s frequently reserve
between 2 and 5 minutes for rebuttal. When your case is called,
and you have introduced yourself, inform the clerk of your
intention to reserve time for rebuttal before you begin your oral
presentation.

35
 Remember that you may not raise any new issues at oral
argument. If an issue was not raised in your opening brief, you
may not address it without leave of court.
After oral argument has been heard, or a waiver of oral
argument has been approved, the case (or “cause”) is deemed
submitted in most cases. (CRC, rule 8.256(d).) Then the wait for
the opinion begins.
B. Decision
After the matter has been submitted, the Court of Appeal will
file its final decision, and a copy of the opinion will be promptly
sent to all parties, as well as to the lower court. (CRC, rule
8.260(a).) The opinion is usually issued within 90 days of the oral
argument/submission date.
 STEP 6:
POST-DECISION
CONSIDERATIONS

37
VI. Post-Decision Considerations
Because of the strong presumption that the trial court’s
judgment is correct, less than five percent (5%) of appeals result
in a reversal or modification. If you are not successful in your
appeal, there are a few additional things to consider.
A. Petition for Rehearing
If the Court of Appeal has made a material mistake of fact or
has misapplied the law in your case, you may petition the Court of
Appeal for rehearing of your case. A petition for rehearing must
be filed within 15 days after the decision was filed. An answer to
the petition for rehearing is not filed unless the court requests an
answer. If the court does file an order requesting an answer, the
answer must be filed within 8 days after the order is filed.
If rehearing is ordered, the decision of the Court of Appeal is
vacated, and the Court sets the cause “at large.” (CRC, rule
8.268(d).) The Court of Appeal may reset the matter for oral
argument, or request supplemental briefing before it files a new
opinion. Frequently, where the petition for rehearing is based on a
mistake, the Court of Appeal will simply file a modification of the
opinion, and deny the petition.
The time limits are short and are strictly observed because
the decision will automatically become final within 30 days after it
was filed. (CRC, rule 8.264(b)(1).) After that, the court loses
jurisdiction to modify or rehear the matter.
 B. Petition for Review
As mentioned in the previous section, the Court of Appeal’s
decision becomes final on the 30th day after it is filed in the Court.
Between the 30th day and the 40th day after the decision is filed,
a party may file a petition for review in the California Supreme
Court.
A party may file a petition in the Supreme Court on any of
the following grounds: (1) When necessary to secure uniformity of
decision or to settle an important question of law; (2) When the
Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction; (3) When the Court of Appeal
decision lacked a majority (at least two justices); or (4) For the
purpose of transferring the matter to the Court of Appeal for such
proceedings as the Supreme Court may order. (CRC, rule
8.500(b).)
The most common grounds for review by the Supreme Court
relate to (1) above. Review may be necessary to secure
uniformity of decision where the opinion in your case disagrees
with holdings of a different Court of Appeal decision. This ground
is more successful where the opinion in your case is certified for
publication, and disagrees with another published decision. At
that point, the Supreme Court may need to decide which decision
is most correct.

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 Regarding petitions for review to settle an important question
of law, such grounds arise when the issue presented to the Court
of Appeal involved the interpretation of a statute, particularly a
new statute, or decided a novel issue of public policy that will
have state-wide impact. Looking at the various grounds for
review, it is easy to see that very few cases are reviewed by the
Supreme Court.
C. Finality
The Court of Appeal’s decision becomes final in that court 30
days after it is filed, unless rehearing is granted. (CRC, rule
8.264(b).) If the decision becomes final and it is not reviewed by
the Supreme Court, a Remittitur is issued by the Court of Appeal.
(CRC, rule 8.272(a).) When the remittitur is issued, the clerk of
the Court of Appeal will send a copy of the remittitur to the trial
court, along with a filed-endorsed copy of the opinion. (CRC, rule
8.272(b).) This signals that the appeal is over.
D. Costs on Appeal
The party who prevails if the Court of Appeal in a civil case is
entitled to costs on appeal. (CRC, rule 8.278(a)(1).) Within 40
days after the issuance of the remittitur, the party claiming costs
awarded by the Court of Appeal must serve and file in the
superior court a verified memorandum of costs under CRC rule
3.1700. (CRC, rule 8.278(c)(1).)
 Not every cost is recoverable: a party may recover filing
fees, the amount the party paid for any portion of the record
(assuming the prevailing party did not have a fee waiver), costs of
mailing, serving and filing the record, briefs and other papers; the
costs of printing and reproducing the briefs, and the costs of any
surety bond, including the premium or other related costs, where
a bond was required. (CRC, rule 8.278(d)(1).)
Recoverable costs do not include attorney’s fees on appeal,
unless those fees are expressly recoverable under a special
statute that was involved in the appeal, or are guaranteed to the
prevailing party by a contract that was involved in the appeal.

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 CONCLUSION
Appeals are difficult because they ask an appellate court to
undo something done by a superior court, where the trial court
was able to observe the witnesses, hear the testimony, and
consider the issues.
The appellate court has no direct knowledge of the case or
its merits, so there is a presumption that the judgment of the
superior court is correct. Only in those cases where prejudicial
error has occurred, will a judgment be reversed.
But even where prejudicial error may exist, the failure to
comply with required appellate procedures may result in a
dismissal of an appeal for a technical default. The goal of this
guide is help unrepresented civil litigants receive a review of their
case on the merits, and not be dismissed for a technical defect.
This is not an exhaustive or detailed treatise on how to
handle your own civil appeal, but it is starting place. You should
make a point to visit the Riverside County Law Library or the San
Bernardino County Law Library, where you will find reference
books containing detailed explanations of the procedures as well
as additional forms or samples.
Good luck to you!