Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

When you file an appeal you must select whether you are going to base the appeal on an agreed joint statement from the parties or the trial transcript. An "election" means you have selected one method over another. You must be very careful in following the court rules as on appeal they are much stricter then Superior Court. If it is a Small Claims Court appeal, I do not know what the election is for, but read carefully the published court rules on what must be done. I believe you have 20 or 30 days to act to avoid a dismissal, and it has been well passed 20 days since you received the notice.

You should spend several hundred dollars to see if you really have a case worth pursuing and to get advice as to how to handle it. You have already lost once and legal advice might save your case and more money then going on your own.

Small Claims appeals do not involve elections. You must be either appealing from limited civil, in which case you appeal to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, or are appealing from an unlimited civil action to the Court of Appeal.

I would have to look at the notice to be sure, but Mr. Shers' answer sounds about right. At the commencement of the appeal, you have to decide whether you are going to designate the record and have the court prepare a transcript of what you want on the record, or prepare an appendix. It does not have to be joint. You are also asked whether you elect to participate in the appellate mediation process, which is why I would have to see the notice to be sure.

I would further add that there is also an election to proceed without a reporter's transcript pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.121.