The system of civil law in the United States is separated from our system of criminal law, giving people an opportunity to sue on the basis of contracts, torts, and similar civil matters. In most cases, civil matters are resolved cleanly and in reasonable ways, but occasionally, circumstances arise that demand a secondary stage of review.
This is known as an appeal. But how exactly does appealing a civil case work? And is it always a good idea?
The High Level of Civil Court Appeals
A civil appeal is an attempt to overturn a civil decision, or some portion of a civil decision. One way to think about it is as a second opportunity to make your argument and pursue the results you want. After a final judgment is rendered in a lower court, you’ll have a fixed amount of time to file a formal appeal. Depending on the circumstances, that appeal may be dismissed, heard and oral arguments, and then reversed, affirmed, or remanded.
A reversal means the appellate court will overturn the lower court’s decision. However, it’s more common for lower courts to have their decisions affirmed, or supported. If the appellate court finds there are more issues to be tried, or tried again, it will remand the case back to the lower court.
Why Consider Appealing a Civil Case?
Many people are tempted to consider appealing a civil case simply because they don’t like the outcome. They may not like that they have to pay a certain amount of damages, or they may find that the judgment is unfair because it doesn’t consider all the circumstances. Unfortunately, you won’t be successful in a simple appeal if this is your only grounds for appealing.
Instead, you must have specifically cited grounds for appealing, based on legal procedures and concepts. These are some of the most common:
- Misapplication of law. It’s possible that the lower court misapplied or misinterpreted the law. This might be because they used an improper definition of a word, because they applied it to the facts in some unfair or unreasonable way, or because they applied the wrong law altogether. Although this isn’t exactly common, it does happen from time to time.
- Procedural flaws. Procedural errors are more common than you might think. Civil cases must conform to a headache-inducing number of procedural rules, and even a minor deviation in the process can lead to a meaningfully different outcome. You may be able to appeal a case if proper procedures were not followed.
- Constitutional rights violations. It’s also possible to appeal the case on constitutional grounds, if your constitutional rights were violated during the process. You will need to present evidence to these rights violations to succeed.
- New evidence. If you discover new evidence that tilts the balance of the case in your favor after the close of the trial, you may also be able to appeal the case. However, there are some key limitations here that you should be aware of before starting to move forward.
- Juror misconduct. Occasionally, you’ll run into issues with jury misconduct. If any jury members conduct themselves improperly during the trial, it could serve as grounds for appeal.
- Abuse of discretion. Abuse of discretion occurs when an authority figure (usually a judge) makes a discretionary decision in error, and in a way that is plainly unreasonable. For example, in granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law, it’s possible for a judge to abuse his discretion by substituting his own judgment for the judgment of the jury.
- Ineffective counsel. Every civil litigant has a right to legal representation. If your lawyer doesn’t provide you with effective representation or advice, you may also be able to appeal your case. However, if you do this, you should definitely consider hiring a new lawyer to represent you.
The Costs and Benefits of Appealing a Civil Case
Before deciding to appeal a civil case, you should weigh the costs and benefits. Appealing a civil case can be both time consuming and expensive, not to mention stressful and practically burdensome. Additionally, most civil appeals are dismissed, affirmed, or affirmed in part. To move forward with a civil appeal, you should have firm reasoning, a significant expected benefit if you win the appeal, and the ability to absorb the losses if your appeal is unsuccessful. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a delicate situation.
How to Move Forward
If you have a civil case that you want to try appealing, your next step should be talking to a civil appeals lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to review your case, evaluate the merits of a potential appeal, and give you all the information you need to decide whether it’s a good idea to move forward.
