Download Understanding the Appeals Process in Civil Procedure and more Slides Civil procedure in PDF only on Docsity! Appeal: Who • Who can appeal – Side who lost below – Can only appeal to change judgment, i.e. relief or lack thereof • More or less damages • Different injunction – Often both sides can appeal • Cross appeals – Cannot appeal just to change reasoning – If won, can defend judgment on appeal with reasons rejected by trial court • Need not cross appeal • Plaintiff sues on contract and tort theory. Both give same damages. Court grants SJ to defendant on tort theory, but gives judgment to plaintiff on contract theory. Defendant appeals. Plaintiff can argue tort theory on appeal. • If in doubt, cross appeal. Docsity.com Appeal: Finality • Can only appeal final judgment – Rule is about when, not what • But when judgment is final, can appeal all issues • Examples of final judgments – Grant of 12(b)(6), grant of SJ, grant of JMOL, judgment in accordance with verdict • Examples of non-final judgments – Denial of 12(b)(6), denial of sanctions, discovery rulings, denial of SJ, grant of new trial, denial of JMOL, • Interlocutory appeals allowed if both District Court and Appellate Court agree. 28 USC 1292(b) – Some other exceptions Docsity.com Appeal: Standards of Review II • Deferential standards (continued) – Abuse of discretion standard • For trial court discretionary decisions – Whether to sanction, if sanction not mandatory – Amount/kind of sanctions – Some evidentiary issues – New trial Docsity.com 6 Appeal Questions I • Go back through all the cases read so far in Civil Procedure – If the case was decided by an appellate court, what standard of review did the court use and why? If the case is not explicit about the standard of review, what standard should the court have used? – If the case was decided by a trial court, what standard of review should an appellate court use if the issue(s) resolved in the case were appealed? Note that if more than one issue is appealed, the appellate court may apply different standards of review to each issue. • Briefly summarize Anderson and Harnden – In your summary of Harnden, include an answer to Yeazell p. 712 Qs 1f, 2 • How could you argue that the district court judge’s error in Harnden was not harmless? In doing so, consider why it is important that an expert report be submitted in the form of an “affidavit or sworn statement.” Docsity.com 7 Appeal Questions II • It is relatively easy for a district court’s decision to grant JMOL to be overturned on appeal (because the standard of review is de novo) but relatively hard for a district court’s decision to grant new trial to be overturned on appeal (because that decision is reviewed under the more deferential “abuse of discretion” standard” and may not be reviewable at all until after the second (or third or fourth) trial). Does this make sense? Why or why not? • Assuming that the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and that the defendant moved for JMOL and new trial, who can appeal in each of the following 4 situations and when. – Judge grants JMOL and conditional new trial – Judge grants JMOL and denies conditional new trial – Judge denies JMOL but grants new trial – Judge denies JMOL and denies new trial Docsity.com
