It’s a position nobody wants to be in. You are in the midst of celebrating your hard-fought victory when you receive that dreaded filing titled, “Notice of Appeal.” Suddenly, you are in the world of appellate litigation, which can feel unfamiliar and perhaps daunting. The good news is that as the respondent on appeal, you will have some time before you have to file your brief. But that does not mean you should sit back and relax. Here are four things you should do right away.
1. Get an Appellate Attorney
The first thing you should do is consult an appellate attorney. Don’t wait because there are several deadlines that occur quite quickly. Your appellate lawyer will need time to evaluate the case and guide you through the next steps.
2. Consider a Cross Appeal
One of the most important decisions to make is whether to bring a cross-appeal. If the trial court decided any issues against you, it might make sense to raise them on appeal. If you want to do so, you must file a notice of related appeal within 14 days. Whether a cross-appeal is worthwhile depends on the circumstances of each case and should be discussed with an appellate lawyer.
3. Review the Statement of the Case
In Minnesota, a notice of appeal must be accompanied by a statement of the case. This intake document is usually fairly standard, but it does contain some information that should be reviewed. For example, the appellant must indicate whether they will order transcripts and where they want oral argument to take place. If a respondent disagrees, they may want to file their own statement of the case. The deadline to do so is 14 days after the appellant files the notice of appeal.
4. Assess Whether There is Appellate Jurisdiction
Your appellate attorney should also analyze whether the decision being appealed is appealable and whether the appeal was properly filed. Occasionally, the appellate court will issue an order questioning jurisdiction and direct the parties to submit memoranda on the issue. If the court is going to do so, it will be soon after the notice of appeal is filed. Therefore, respondents should be sure to retain appellate counsel right away so that they can be prepared to respond if needed.
In short, it is important to take a Notice of Appeal seriously and act promptly to ensure you are responding appropriately and within any applicable deadlines. If you have questions about responding to an appeal, please contact Lommen Abdo attorneys Michelle Kuhl and Kay Hunt.