After months of legwork, negotiations and headaches your personal injury case is finally over. Unfortunately, your judgement or verdict is far from what you expected. What are your options? Well, for one, you do have the option to appeal the decision.
The Appeal Process
If you (as a plaintiff) lose your case, understand that an appeal does not automatically happen. The appellate process begins when your attorney files a notice of appeal.
If you appeal, you become the appellant and the defendant’s designation becomes appellee. Expect your notice of appeal to be quickly followed by a Motion to Dismiss the Appeal from the defendant’s attorney.
If your appeal is dismissed you may end up having to pay for the appellee’s legal fees and court costs. On the flip side, to overcome a Motion to Dismiss Appeal, there must be sufficient evidence of a poor ruling made by a judge or jury.
If the judgement was in your favor as the plaintiff, then the defendant will be the one filing an appeal. (Though it’s possible neither of you were satisfied and you both appeal.)
With any appeal, be prepared for the long haul because this process can be tedious and time-consuming, to say the least. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get a ruling on your appeal for two or three years.
When the time comes the appellate court can do one of the following things with a judgement:
- reverse the lower court’s decision (you win the appeal)
- affirm the lower court’s decision (you lose the appeal)
- send the case back for further proceedings (you have to wait and see)
Confused? Don’t worry you’re not alone. Give us a call at Pickard Parry Pfau and we can help you pick up the pieces from a court decision that didn’t go in your favor. We’re here to help and answer any questions you may have.
