Losing at trial is not the end of a civil case, but the road up is narrow and unforgiving of missed dates. An ordinary appeal from a trial court's decision is begun by a short document — the notice of appeal — filed in the very court that decided against you, within a fixed period that a late filing cannot revive. Choose the wrong mode of appeal and the appeal can be dismissed outright; file on time and pay the fees, and the case moves to the appellate court, at which point the trial court largely loses its power over it. This page walks through what can be appealed, which mode applies, the periods, the record on appeal in the cases that still require one, and the moment jurisdiction actually passes.
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First check that the order is appealable at all
An appeal lies from a judgment or final order that completely disposes of the case, or of a matter the Rules declare appealable. It does not lie from an interlocutory order, an order of execution, an order denying a petition for relief, an order dismissing an action without prejudice, an order disallowing an appeal, or a judgment against fewer than all the parties while the main case is pending, unless the court allows it. For those non-appealable orders, the aggrieved party's route is a special civil action under Rule 65, not an appeal. Filing a notice of appeal against an unappealable order wastes the period without protecting anything.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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Pick the right mode: notice of appeal, petition for review, or straight up on law
Where the Regional Trial Court decided the case in its original jurisdiction — the case began there — the appeal to the Court of Appeals is an ordinary appeal, taken by filing a notice of appeal with the court that rendered the judgment and serving a copy on the adverse party. Where the Regional Trial Court decided the case in its appellate jurisdiction — it was itself reviewing a first-level court — the mode is a petition for review under Rule 42. And where only questions of law are raised, the appeal goes to the Supreme Court by petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45. The mode is dictated by the case, not chosen by the appellant.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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The period: 15 days from notice, or 30 days where a record on appeal is required
The ordinary appeal must be taken within 15 days from notice of the judgment or final order appealed from. Where a record on appeal is required — special proceedings and other cases of multiple or separate appeals — the appellant has 30 days from notice to file both the notice of appeal and the record on appeal. The period counts from notice to the party or counsel, and once it lapses without a perfected appeal the judgment becomes final and executory by operation of law, without any further order. There is no such thing as a late notice of appeal that the court may excuse in the ordinary course.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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A timely motion for new trial or reconsideration interrupts the period
The period of appeal is interrupted by a timely motion for new trial or a motion for reconsideration filed in the trial court. That is the lawful way to buy deliberation time: attack the judgment first before the judge who rendered it, and the appeal clock stops while the motion is pending. What the rules flatly prohibit is a motion for extension of time to file a motion for new trial or reconsideration — no such extension is allowed, so the motion itself must be filed within the original period for taking an appeal. A party who lets the period run while merely preparing a motion has protected nothing.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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Pay the appellate docket fees within the same period
Filing the notice of appeal is not the whole act of appealing. Within the period for taking the appeal, the appellant must also pay to the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment the full amount of the appellate court docket and other lawful fees, and the proof of that payment is transmitted to the appellate court together with the record. Payment is made below, in the court you are leaving, not in the court you are going to. An appellant who files the notice on the last day and treats the fees as an afterthought is inviting a challenge to the appeal itself.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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What the notice of appeal must contain
The notice of appeal is brief but has required contents: it indicates the parties to the appeal, specifies the judgment or final order or the part of it being appealed from, specifies the court to which the appeal is being taken, and states the material dates showing that the appeal was taken on time — when the judgment was received, whether and when a motion for new trial or reconsideration was filed, and when its denial was received. A copy is served on the adverse party. The material-dates statement is not decoration; it is how the appellate court sees, on the face of the notice, that the appeal is timely.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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Record on appeal cases: what the record is and how it is approved
In special proceedings and other cases allowing multiple or separate appeals, the case record cannot simply be shipped to the appellate court, because the trial court still needs it for the parts of the case left behind. The appellant therefore compiles a record on appeal: the judgment appealed from and, in chronological order, only the pleadings, petitions, motions and interlocutory orders related to it, with data showing the appeal was perfected on time. The appellee has 5 days from receipt to object before the trial court may approve it as presented, and the court may order matters added, after which the redrafted record is submitted for approval in the same way.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →
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Perfection of the appeal, and the moment the trial court loses jurisdiction
An appeal by notice of appeal is perfected as to the appellant upon the filing of the notice in due time; an appeal by record on appeal is perfected upon approval of the record filed in due time. The trial court loses jurisdiction over the case upon the perfection of the appeals and the expiration of the other parties' time to appeal — in record on appeal cases, it loses jurisdiction only over the subject matter of the appeal. Until the record is transmitted, the trial court keeps residual powers: it may protect the parties' rights on matters not litigated in the appeal, approve compromises, permit appeals of indigent litigants, order execution pending appeal, and allow withdrawal of the appeal. The clerk must verify and transmit the records to the appellate court within 30 days after perfection.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 41. Read the source →