Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

Four other lawyers have answered your question since I did and may have left you more confused than you were in the begining. Let me try to clarify.

Mr. Murray's answer is incorrect. The law does not say you have to count the day of service. Indeed, it is quite clear that the day of service does not count. Counting the day anyway will give you a one-day margin for error, which is the opposite of what Mr. Murray wrote.

In California state courts, a notice of appeal must be filed by the earliest of these three dates:

1. The 60th day after notice of entry of judgment is mailed to the parties by the clerk;

2. The 60th day after notice of entry is served by any party (including the appellant);

3. The 180th day after the judgment was entered.

Note that the clerk is not required to mail out a notice of entry, so (1) often doesn't happen at all. Clerks usually mail out a notice where one party is in pro per (doesn't have a lawyer) and in some family law cases, but not in a typical civil lawsuit where all parties have lawyers.

If no party or attorney served a notice of entry before the clerk mailed hers, then the 60-day clock started running on September 7 and ran out at the end of the day on November 6.

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

The day the judgment is entered does not count. It sounds like the notice of appeal was filed on time.

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

It does not matter. Either counting it or not, the last timely date was 11/6. If you count it (which is the law) that is the last day. If you do count it (as super cautious practitioners do) then the last day is a Sunday, so the next day, 11/6, is when it must be filed.

The question you should ge asking is whether the defendant's lawyer gave his or her own notice, as the 60 days runs from notice of entry of judgment, not necessarily from the clerk.

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

The date of mailing does not count when calculating the 60-day period.

As one of my colleagues correctly noted, there may be an earlier Notice of Entry of Judgment. Mailing a Notice of Entry of Judgment call also be done by the office of the attorney of record. If an earlier notice was sent, the Notice of Appeal might not be timely.

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

It is timely. Make sure that your reply brief is timely also. 18 years appellate work experience - call me directly at16192223504.

Re: Question Regarding Timing for Appeal

Unless an earlier notice was served by the clerk or an attorney in the case, it is timely. The date of mailing does not count in the calculation.