California Court of Appeal Filing Checklist

Trial Court: Superior Court of California, County of [________________________________]

Trial Court Case Number: [________________________________]

Court of Appeal: Court of Appeal, [________________________________] District

Appellate Case Number: [________________________________] (assigned after filing)

Appellant: [________________________________]

Respondent: [________________________________]

Filing Attorney: [________________________________]

Date Prepared: [__/__/____]

I. Appealability Determination

Final Judgment/Order

☐ Judgment is final and appealable (CCP § 904.1)
☐ All issues resolved in trial court
☐ Judgment signed and entered: [__/__/____]

Notice of Entry of Judgment

☐ Notice of Entry of Judgment served: [__/__/____]
☐ Or 180 days from entry of judgment (if no notice)

Appealable Orders (CCP § 904.1)

☐ Judgment (final)
☐ Order after judgment
☐ Order granting motion to quash
☐ Order granting summary judgment
☐ Certain interlocutory orders
☐ Other: [________________________________]

II. Deadline Calculation

Notice of Appeal Deadline

☐ 60 days from Notice of Entry of Judgment/Order
☐ Or 180 days from entry if no Notice of Entry served
☐ Judgment entered: [__/__/____]
☐ Notice of Entry served: [__/__/____]
☐ APPEAL DEADLINE: [__/__/____]

Extension for Post-Trial Motions

☐ Motion for new trial filed (CCP § 657)
☐ Motion to vacate judgment filed (CCP § 663)
☐ Motion for JNOV filed
☐ Appeal time tolled until motion denied
☐ Motion ruled on: [__/__/____]
☐ New appeal deadline: [__/__/____]

Cross-Appeal

☐ Cross-appeal deadline: 20 days after notice of appeal
☐ Or regular deadline, whichever is later

III. Notice of Appeal

Filing Location

☐ File with Superior Court Clerk (not Court of Appeal)
☐ Court address: [________________________________]

Required Form

☐ APP-002: Notice of Appeal (Unlimited Civil Case)
☐ Or APP-102 (limited civil case)
☐ Caption with case number
☐ Appellant and respondent identified
☐ Judgment/order appealed from identified
☐ Date of judgment/order
☐ Signed by appellant or attorney

Filing Fee

☐ Filing fee: $775 (unlimited civil) - verify current
☐ Or fee waiver (FW-001)
☐ Fee paid: ☐ Yes ☐ Fee waiver filed

IV. Designating the Record (CRC 8.121-8.163)

Record Components

☐ Clerk's Transcript OR Appendix
☐ Reporter's Transcript (if oral proceedings)

Clerk's Transcript vs. Appendix

☐ Option 1: Clerk's Transcript
☐ Designation filed within 10 days of notice of appeal
☐ Respondent may counter-designate within 10 days
☐ Deposit for costs required

☐ Option 2: Appendix (CRC 8.124)
☐ Filed with opening brief
☐ Contains designated documents
☐ More flexible and often less expensive

Reporter's Transcript

☐ Reporter's transcript needed for: [________________________________]
☐ Designation filed within 10 days of notice of appeal
☐ Deposit with court reporter required
☐ Estimate obtained: $[________________]
☐ Deposit paid: [__/__/____]

If No Reporter's Transcript

☐ Agreed statement (CRC 8.134)
☐ Settled statement (CRC 8.137)

V. Superior Court Processing

Case Information Statement

☐ APP-004: Civil Case Information Statement
☐ Filed with notice of appeal or within 15 days
☐ Sent to Court of Appeal

Record Preparation

☐ Clerk prepares clerk's transcript (if designated)
☐ Reporter prepares reporter's transcript
☐ Record transmitted to Court of Appeal

VI. Court of Appeal Procedures

Notification of Record

☐ Court of Appeal notifies parties when record filed
☐ Briefing schedule commences

Briefing Schedule (CRC 8.212)

☐ Appellant's Opening Brief: 40 days after record filed
☐ Respondent's Brief: 30 days after appellant's brief
☐ Appellant's Reply Brief: 20 days after respondent's brief

Extensions

☐ Extensions by stipulation (limited)
☐ Extensions by court order (for good cause)
☐ Maximum extension requests: Check local rules

VII. Brief Requirements (CRC 8.204)

Format Requirements

☐ Page limit: 25,500 words OR 50 pages (opening/respondent)
☐ Reply limit: 8,500 words OR 25 pages
☐ Cover color:
☐ Appellant's opening: Green
☐ Respondent's: Yellow
☐ Appellant's reply: Tan
☐ Bound on left side
☐ 8.5 x 11 inches

Required Contents

☐ Table of Contents
☐ Table of Authorities
☐ Statement of the Case
☐ Statement of Appealability
☐ Statement of Facts
☐ Issues Presented
☐ Argument
☐ Conclusion
☐ Certificate of Word Count

Appendix (if using)

☐ Filed with opening brief
☐ Index of documents
☐ Documents tab-indexed
☐ Pagination

VIII. Filing Briefs

Electronic Filing

☐ TrueFiling system (mandatory)
☐ Account created
☐ Brief filed electronically
☐ Service via TrueFiling

Paper Copies

☐ 4 paper copies to Court of Appeal
☐ Filed within 5 days of electronic filing
☐ Service of paper copies on parties

IX. Oral Argument

Requesting Oral Argument

☐ Request in brief
☐ Or submit within 15 days after filing reply

Oral Argument Procedures

☐ Argument date: [__/__/____]
☐ Time allocation: Typically 20-30 minutes per side
☐ Location: [________________________________]

Waiving Oral Argument

☐ May submit on briefs
☐ Notify court if waiving

X. Stay Pending Appeal

Automatic Stay (Judgment for Money Only)

☐ Undertaking (bond) filed
☐ Amount: 1.5x judgment amount
☐ Stay in effect upon filing bond

Discretionary Stay

☐ Motion for stay filed in trial court
☐ Or petition for writ of supersedeas in Court of Appeal
☐ Good cause shown

XI. Writ Petitions (Alternative to Appeal)

When Appropriate

☐ Interlocutory order (not immediately appealable)
☐ Extraordinary circumstances
☐ No adequate remedy by appeal

Common Writs

☐ Mandate (CCP § 1084)
☐ Certiorari (CCP § 1067)
☐ Prohibition (CCP § 1102)

XII. After Decision

Opinion

☐ Opinion filed: [__/__/____]
☐ Result: ☐ Affirmed ☐ Reversed ☐ Modified

Rehearing

☐ Petition for rehearing: 15 days from filing of opinion
☐ Rarely granted

Supreme Court Review

☐ Petition for review: 10 days after denial of rehearing
☐ Or 40 days after opinion if no rehearing sought
☐ Discretionary review

Remittitur

☐ Remittitur issued: 60 days after opinion (if no rehearing/review)
☐ Case returned to trial court

XIII. Quality Control Checklist

Before Filing Notice of Appeal

☐ Appeal deadline verified (jurisdictional!)
☐ Judgment/order is appealable
☐ Filing fee ready
☐ Form completed accurately

Record Designation

☐ All necessary transcripts ordered
☐ Deposits paid
☐ Deadlines met

Briefing

☐ Deadlines calendared
☐ Word/page limits observed
☐ All required sections included
☐ Proper cover color
☐ Certificate of word count

XIV. Document Tracking Log

XV. Key Deadlines

Sources and References

• California Rules of Court, Title 8: https://www.courts.ca.gov/rules.htm
• TrueFiling: https://www.truefiling.com
• Court of Appeal District Websites
• California Code of Civil Procedure § 901-923

Prepared by: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Supervising Attorney (if applicable): [________________________________]