Short answer. Yes, but only as an exception. Rule 39, Section 2 allows discretionary execution of a judgment even before the period to appeal expires — on motion of the prevailing party with notice to the adverse party — and it may only issue upon good reasons, stated in a special order, after due hearing.
What the law says
said court may, in its discretion, order execution of a judgment or final order even before the expiration of the period to appeal.
Rule 39, Section 2 — Discretionary execution. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Discretionary execution may only issue upon good reasons to be stated in a special order after due hearing.
Rule 39, Section 2 — Discretionary execution. Read the full provision →
Discretionary, not a matter of right
Execution ordinarily waits for finality; this section is the exception that does not. On motion of the prevailing party with notice to the adverse party, the court may, in its discretion, order execution of a judgment or final order even before the expiration of the period to appeal. Every word of that framing signals the exceptional character of the remedy. It is discretionary where ordinary execution is a matter of right; it requires a motion and notice, so it cannot happen behind the losing party's back; and the court is free to refuse it even when asked.
The three safeguards
The section closes with its own brake: Discretionary execution may only issue upon good reasons to be stated in a special order after due hearing. Three requirements, all mandatory. There must be good reasons — circumstances that justify enforcing a judgment that may yet be reversed, not the bare fact of having won below. The reasons must be stated in a special order, so the justification is on the record and reviewable, not implied. And the order comes only after due hearing, giving the losing party the chance to oppose. An order missing any of the three is vulnerable.
Which court to ask, and when
The section fixes the venue by timing. The motion is filed in the trial court while it has jurisdiction over the case and is in possession of either the original record or the record on appeal. Once the trial court loses jurisdiction, the avenue shifts: After the trial court has lost jurisdiction, the motion for execution pending appeal may be filed in the appellate court. The remedy therefore never simply lapses because the case moved upward — but the movant must aim at the right court for the stage the case has reached. The same terms extend to a several, separate or partial judgment.
How each side should approach it
A prevailing party seeking early execution should build the motion around the good reasons — concretely, with evidence, since generic eagerness to collect will not carry a discretionary remedy. A losing party opposing it has three targets matching the three safeguards: show the reasons offered are not good enough, insist on the hearing, and scrutinise the special order for whether it truly states its grounds. Either way, this is a fight worth having with counsel early, because it decides who holds the money or property during the years an appeal can take.