Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

An order sustaining a demurrer is ordinarily not appealable. If (1) the court sustains the demurrer without leave to amend, and (2) the demurrer resolves all claims between the parties involved, then the court will enter a judgment. The judgment will be appealable. But if the court grants leave to amend and/or if there are other causes of action between those parties, then there is nothing to appeal from.

You have the option of seeking a writ of mandate (an order from the Court of Appeal before the case is over in the trial court directing that court to vacate or modify the challenged order), but those are very hard to get.

There are nuances to these rules, though. With more information about your case, I might reach a different conclusion. You should consult with a qualified attorney as soon as possible, since you may be faced with a looming deadline that you do not know about.

Feel free to contact me directly. I am a certified appellate specialist and have over 15 years of experience in the field.

It is not clear from your post whether you are the party who demurred, or the party who was demurred to. The general rules are as follows:

If the demurrer is sustained with leave to amend, the party who was demurred to may seek a review by petitioning the appellate court for a writ of prohibition or mandate (called an extraordinary writ.) As Mr. Hoffman points out, those are rarely granted and often a waste of time and an appellate filing fee. Your other options are to amend the pleading that was demurred to, dismiss and refile (I never recommend this!), or refuse to amend and allow the court to enter an eventual order of dismissal. (I also do not recommend this!)

If the demurrer was sustained with leave to amend as to less than all causes of action, your options are similar to as above.

If the demurrer was sustained without leave to amend, the order sustaining the demurrer itself is not appealable. Rather, you must timely file a notice of appeal from the actual judgment of dismissal.