Following are questions and answers
concerning appeals arranged in what we believe is a logical sequence.
Additional questions and answers are added regularly, so please
visit our site often. Please feel free to make copies for non-commercial
purposes.
Q:
What is an appeal?
A:
An appeal is a formal request to a higher court (appellate court) to review the decision of a lower court (trial court) or an administrative agency.
Q:
During an appeal, does the appellate court review the entire case?
A:
No. The appellate court will review the legal issues to determine whether the lower court made an error of law. It will not receive additional evidence or hear witnesses. It makes its decision based on the record of the lower court and will overturn a decision on factual grounds only if the finding were “clearly erroneous.”
Q:
What justifies filing an appeal?
A:
The primary grounds for filing an appeal are that the lower court made a serious error of law and / or that the verdict in the lower court was clearly against the weight of the evidence.
Q:
Do all errors of law justify an appeal?
A:
No. Some errors are considered “harmless errors” which means that they were unlikely to have changed the judgment of the lower court
Q:
Can an arbitration award be appealed?
A:
No, in most cases. Unless the particular rules of the arbitration permit an appeal, the award of the arbitrator is final. This can be a major advantage or disadvantage.
