Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
In California, I lost a motion for re-consideration. How much time do I have to file a notice of appeal? Does the 60 day period apply to motion for reconsideration as well?
3 Answers from Attorneys
The situation is governed by Rule 8.108 of the California Rules of Court. Much depends on whether your motion was "valid" and what was being reconsidered. The concept of "validity" is not possible to define in a short answer like this.
Your best assumption is that there is no extension of time, and file your notice of appeal based on the timing requirements as though no motion were filed. You should consult with a litigator who can review the papers for a final opinion, however, and not rely on an answer in a public forum.
You don't appeal from an order ruling on a motion for reconsideration. You appeal from the original order that is being reconsidered. Whether or not you can appeal from that order depends on whether it is an appealable order. You do not tell us whether it is an appealable order.
Assuming that it was an appealable order, a timely motion for reconsideration of that order will extend the time to appeal from the order. But the order denying the motion for reconsideration is not itself appealable.
You had a time limit for the motion and one for the appeal, quite independent of each other. If you didn't already file the notice of appeal within the statutory time [probably 60 days from entry of notice of judgment], you may be too late.