Can You Appeal an Unfavorable Decision in Commercial Litigation?
If you are involved in a business dispute that goes to court, you should consult with a Conshohocken commercial litigation lawyer for help as soon as possible. Whether you or your company is the plaintiff or the defendant in the case, you need to ensure that you are making the most informed choices during the trial preparation process and when you present your case in court. By preparing for a trial and having a strong litigator representing you, you can increase the chances of a favorable outcome in your case.
If your case does not end up with a favorable decision being made, you do not necessarily need to give up and just accept the ruling of the court. It is possible to appeal an unfavorable decision in commercial litigation.
You are guaranteed at least one appeal to a higher court, and if you are still not satisfied than you can try to pursue yet another level of appeal all the up to requesting a writ of certiorari by the Supreme Court. While you aren't guaranteed to have the highest state or federal court hear your appeal, you should understand the process for trying to get an unfavorable decision overturned.
Curley & Rothman, LLC has extensive experience representing clients who are involved in business disputes. We can provide assistance during the initial stages of your case as well as when an appeal becomes necessary. Give us a call as soon as possible to find out how an experienced commercial litigation lawyer can help you.
Appealing a Decision in Commercial Litigation
An appeal is a request that a higher court review the decisions made by a lower court. Everyone who is involved in civil litigation as a plaintiff or as a defendant can appeal when an unfavorable decision is made. This is true in breach of contract claims, injury claims, intellectual property disputes, and all other types of commercial litigation.
If you are dissatisfied with the decision in your case, you need to ensure that you make a request to appeal within a timely manner. PA Code Rule 903 makes clear that appeals must be filed within 30 days after the court has entered the order that is being appealed. If you miss the deadline, you generally no longer will be able to appeal and the court's judgment will stand as the final judgment.
You can not only appeal a final outcome, but can also appeal orders during the process of a civil trial. This is called an interim appeal or interlocutory appeal. An interim appeal is an appeal of a particular order before all claims are settled. It is possible to make an interlocutory appeal only under very limited circumstances, such as when an order on a particular issue made by a judge would be especially prejudicial to one of the parties in the case. In most situations, however, you will need to wait for the final outcome of all claims pending in the case before appealing.
When the case has been decided, you should file your appeal as quickly as you can to ensure deadlines are met. The appeal will ask the higher court to look at the decisions made by the lower court and to determine if there were any problems which would result in the case being overturned.
In general, an appellate court does not substitute its own judgment on findings of fact for the judgment of a judge or jury in a lower court. Instead, the appeals court is deferential on these matters while carefully reviewing whether any legal or procedural errors were made. In other words, if the judge allowed evidence in that shouldn't have been admitted, if the law was incorrectly interpreted, or if the jury was given the wrong instructions, then the case may be overturned on appeal. However, the appeals court isn't going to do things like question whether a jury should have been more suspicious of a witness' credibility.
An appeal also does not involve re-litigating the whole trial. The appeals court makes a decision based on a written brief as well as by an oral argument by your attorney.
How a Conshohocken Commercial Litigation Lawyer Can Help with Appeals
The strength of your appeal, and the likely success of your appeal, is going to depend upon the strength of the brief you submit as well as the strengths of the arguments made in your appeals hearing. You need to ensure you have an experienced Conshohocken commercial litigation lawyer handling your appeal so you can have the best chance of success.
Curley & Rothman, LLC can help with the appeals process. Give us a call at 610-834-8819 or contact us today to schedule your consultation and learn more about how we can assist you in responding to an unfavorable verdict.