State Court Notice of Appeal — Kentucky

NOTICE OF APPEAL

Commonwealth of Kentucky — Court of Appeals (or Supreme Court of Kentucky)

CRITICAL DEADLINES
- Civil appeal: Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days after the date of notation in the docket of the judgment or final order. KRAP 4(A)(1).
- Post-trial motion tolling: A timely CR 50.02, 52.02, or 59.05 motion tolls the deadline until entry of the order disposing of the motion. KRAP 4(A)(2).
- Commonwealth as party: 60-day deadline applies. KRAP 4(A)(1).
- Criminal appeal: 30 days from judgment of conviction or final dispositional order.
- Transcript order (Form AOC-060): Must be filed within 10 days of the Notice of Appeal. KRAP 11(B).
- The Notice of Appeal is filed in the trial court, not the appellate court.

PART I — COURT AND CASE IDENTIFICATION

TRIAL COURT (where filed):

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
[________________________________] CIRCUIT COURT
[________________________________] COUNTY
CIVIL ACTION NO. [____________________]
DIVISION: [____]
HON. [________________________________], Presiding Judge

APPELLATE COURT:

☐ Kentucky Court of Appeals
☐ Supreme Court of Kentucky (direct appeal per KRS 21A.010 or transfer)

Appellate Case No. (assigned after docketing): [____________________]

PART II — CASE CAPTION

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
[________________________________] CIRCUIT COURT
CIVIL ACTION NO. [____________________]

[________________________________],
      Plaintiff / Appellee,

v.

[________________________________],
      Defendant / Appellant.

(Adjust Plaintiff/Appellee and Defendant/Appellant designations to reflect each party's trial and appellate roles. If Plaintiff appeals, reverse the labels.)

PART III — COUNSEL / PARTY INFORMATION

Appellant's Counsel:

[________________________________] (KY Bar No. [________])
[________________________________] (Law Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________], Kentucky [________] (City, ZIP)
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Facsimile: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
Counsel for Appellant: [________________________________]

Appellee's Counsel (for service purposes):

[________________________________] (KY Bar No. [________])
[________________________________] (Law Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________], Kentucky [________]
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
Counsel for Appellee: [________________________________]

PART IV — NOTICE OF APPEAL

Pursuant to Kentucky Rules of Appellate Procedure (KRAP) 3 and 4, and Kentucky Civil Rule 73.02, [________________________________] ("Appellant"), who was the [☐ Plaintiff ☐ Defendant ☐ Third-Party Defendant ☐ Other: ________________________________] in the above-captioned action, hereby gives notice of appeal to the [☐ Kentucky Court of Appeals ☐ Supreme Court of Kentucky] from the following judgment, order, or ruling entered in the [________________________________] Circuit Court:

A. Judgment / Order Appealed From

Description of Judgment/Order:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Date entered/noted in docket: [__/__/____]

Judge who entered the judgment/order: Hon. [________________________________]

Is this a final judgment or final order? ☐ Yes ☐ No (if No, explain basis for interlocutory appeal: [________________________________])

Statutory or rule basis for appealability:
☐ KRS 22A.020(1) — Final judgment of Circuit Court
☐ KRS 22A.020(2) — Interlocutory order (specify: [________________________________])
☐ KRAP 3(A) — Appeal as of right
☐ KRAP 3(B) — Discretionary review (petition required)
☐ Other: [________________________________]

B. Additional Orders / Rulings Appealed

Appellant also appeals from each and every interlocutory order, ruling, or decision that merged into or is part of the final judgment, including but not limited to:

1. Order dated [__/__/____] regarding [________________________________]
2. Order dated [__/__/____] regarding [________________________________]
3. All adverse rulings made during the course of the proceedings.

PART V — JURISDICTIONAL / TIMELINESS STATEMENT

Appellant states that this Notice of Appeal is timely filed within 30 days of the notation in the docket of the [☐ final judgment ☐ order on post-judgment motion], as required by KRAP 4(A).

PART VI — PARTIES TO THE APPEAL

All parties to the trial court proceedings are listed below:

PART VII — DESIGNATION OF RECORD (KRAP 12)

Appellant hereby designates the following portions of the trial court record for inclusion in the record on appeal:

☐ The entire trial court record (recommended for most appeals)
☐ Partial record (specify items below):

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
4. All pleadings, motions, responses, and orders
5. All exhibits admitted at trial or hearing
6. The court's written findings of fact and conclusions of law, if any
7. All post-judgment motions and orders thereon

Clerk's Note: Appellant requests that the Clerk of the [________________________________] Circuit Court prepare and transmit the record pursuant to KRAP 12.

PART VIII — TRANSCRIPT ORDER (KRAP 11)

(Must be filed within 10 days of the Notice of Appeal. Use Form AOC-060.)

Appellant ☐ has filed ☐ will file within 10 days a Transcript Order (Form AOC-060) with the circuit court clerk for the following proceedings:

☐ Appellant certifies that no transcript is necessary because [________________________________].

Financial arrangements for transcript:
☐ Appellant has paid the estimated cost of $[________________] directly to the court reporter.
☐ Appellant has made written payment arrangements with the court reporter.
☐ Appellant is proceeding in forma pauperis and has filed a motion for appointment of a court reporter at public expense.

PART IX — SUPERSEDEAS BOND / STAY OF JUDGMENT (KRAP 7)

(Complete if Appellant seeks to stay enforcement of the judgment pending appeal.)

☐ No Stay Requested: Appellant does not seek a stay of the judgment pending appeal.

☐ Stay Requested — Supersedeas Bond (KRAP 7 / CR 73.04):
Appellant intends to file or has filed a supersedeas bond in the amount fixed by the trial court. The judgment amount to be stayed is $[________________]. Appellant requests that the trial court fix the amount of the bond.

☐ Stay by Injunction / Other Relief:
Appellant will file a separate motion for stay pending appeal under KRAP 7(B) and CR 62.

Nature of judgment to be stayed:
☐ Money judgment of $[________________]
☐ Injunctive / equitable relief (describe: [________________________________])
☐ Property transfer or disposition
☐ Other: [________________________________]

PART X — CROSS-APPEAL

☐ No cross-appeal is filed or anticipated at this time.

☐ Notice of Cross-Appeal:
Pursuant to KRAP 4(B), [________________________________] ("Cross-Appellant"), who was the [________________________________] in the trial court, hereby cross-appeals from the following aspects of the judgment: [________________________________].

Cross-Appellant is represented by:
[________________________________] (KY Bar No. [________])
[________________________________], Kentucky [________]
Email: [________________________________]

(Note: A cross-appeal must be filed within 10 days after the filing of the original Notice of Appeal, or within the original 30-day deadline, whichever is later. KRAP 4(B).)

PART XI — DOCKETING STATEMENT OUTLINE (KRAP)

The following information will be included in the Docketing Statement filed with the Court of Appeals. This outline assists in preparing that document.

1. Nature of the case:
[________________________________]

2. Basis of appellate jurisdiction:
☐ Appeal of right — Final judgment under KRS 22A.020(1)
☐ Interlocutory appeal — KRS 22A.020(2)
☐ Discretionary review pending
☐ Other: [________________________________]

3. Issues to be presented on appeal (preliminary statement — not binding):

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]

4. Prior appellate history of this case:
☐ None
☐ Prior appeal(s): [________________________________]

5. Related cases pending in any court:
☐ None
☐ Yes: [________________________________]

6. Estimated length of record (pages): [________]

7. Will oral argument be requested? ☐ Yes ☐ No

8. Is this case appropriate for accelerated review? ☐ Yes ☐ No
If yes, reason: [________________________________]

PART XII — FILING FEE CERTIFICATION

☐ Appellant has paid the required filing fee of $[________________] to the Clerk of the Circuit Court for transmittal to the Court of Appeals.

☐ Appellant has filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (pauper's affidavit) and requests waiver of the filing fee pursuant to KRS 453.190 and KRAP 5(A).

☐ Appellant is exempt from the filing fee because: [________________________________]

Method of payment: ☐ Check ☐ Money Order ☐ Credit Card ☐ KYeCourt (e-payment) ☐ Other: [________________________________]

PART XIII — SIGNATURE BLOCK

Respectfully submitted this [____] day of [________________], 20[____].

[________________________________] (Law Firm Name)

___________________________________________
[________________________________]
Kentucky Bar No. [________]
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________], Kentucky [________]
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
Counsel for Appellant, [________________________________]

PART XIV — CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (KRAP 5)

I, [________________________________], hereby certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of the foregoing NOTICE OF APPEAL, together with all required attachments, was served upon the following counsel of record and the trial court clerk by the method(s) indicated:

Appellee's Counsel:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Kentucky [________]
Email: [________________________________]

Method of Service:
☐ KYeCourt electronic service (all parties registered)
☐ U.S. Mail, First Class, postage prepaid
☐ Hand delivery
☐ Email (by written consent of recipient)

Trial Court Clerk:
Clerk of the [________________________________] Circuit Court
[________________________________] County, Kentucky

Method of Service on Clerk:
☐ KYeCourt electronic filing (serves clerk automatically)
☐ Hand delivery to clerk's office
☐ U.S. Mail

___________________________________________
[________________________________]
Counsel for Appellant

PART XV — DEADLINE CALCULATION GUIDE

Triggering Event and Base Deadline

Tolling Motion Chart (Civil)

Cross-Appeal Deadline

Transcript Order Deadline

PART XVI — POST-FILING CHECKLIST

Complete each step after filing the Notice of Appeal:

Within 10 days of filing Notice of Appeal:
☐ File Transcript Order Form (Form AOC-060) with the circuit court clerk (KRAP 11(B))
☐ Serve copy of transcript order on court reporter and all parties
☐ Confirm financial arrangements with court reporter (payment or pauper order)
☐ Evaluate whether supersedeas bond / stay motion needed (KRAP 7)
☐ Calendar all deadlines

Within 30 days of docketing in Court of Appeals:
☐ File Docketing Statement in the Court of Appeals
☐ Pay Court of Appeals docket fee (if not included with Notice)
☐ Confirm case number assigned by Court of Appeals
☐ Enter appearance of appellate counsel (if different from trial counsel)

Ongoing:
☐ Monitor record preparation by circuit clerk
☐ Review record for completeness when transmitted
☐ Order additional transcripts if needed after review of record
☐ Track briefing schedule issued by Court of Appeals
☐ Confirm service on all parties at each step

PART XVII — PRACTITIONER NOTES

Major 2023 Reform — KRAP: Kentucky replaced its prior civil appellate rules with a comprehensive new set of Kentucky Rules of Appellate Procedure (KRAP), effective January 1, 2023. Attorneys should be familiar with the new rule numbers, as references to old CR 73–76 rules are superseded.

Where to File: The Notice of Appeal is filed with the circuit court clerk — not the Court of Appeals. The circuit clerk then transmits the record. KRAP 3(A).

KYeCourt E-Filing: Most circuit courts require or strongly encourage e-filing through KYeCourt. Verify local requirements for your county.

Appellate Court Structure:

• Kentucky Court of Appeals: 14 judges, panels of 3; intermediate appellate court.
• Supreme Court of Kentucky: 7 justices; discretionary review from Court of Appeals or direct appeal in certain cases (death penalty, life imprisonment, $2M+ civil judgments per KRS 21A.010).

Interlocutory Appeals: Limited. KRS 22A.020(2) permits appeal of orders granting or denying injunctions, appointing receivers, directing execution, and certain other interlocutory orders. Always confirm finality.

Prehearing Conference: Court of Appeals may schedule a prehearing conference for settlement or clarification of issues. KRAP 31.

Form AOC-060: The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts provides official form AOC-060 for transcript requests. Use this form even if you prepare a separate cover letter to the reporter.

Supersedeas Bond Amount: Under KRAP 7, the trial court fixes the bond amount. For money judgments, the bond typically covers the judgment amount plus interest and costs. The Appellant may seek a reduction of the bond for good cause.

Attorney Certification: All filings must include KY Bar number. Out-of-state attorneys must comply with SCR 3.030 for pro hac vice admission before appearing in Kentucky appellate courts.

Sources and References:

• Kentucky Court of Appeals: https://www.kycourts.gov/Courts/Court-of-Appeals
• KRAP (effective Jan. 1, 2023): https://dpa.ky.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Appellate-Rules-2023.pdf
• Basic Appellate Practice Handbook: https://www.kycourts.gov/Courts/Court-of-Appeals/Documents/P56BasicAppellatePracticeHandbook.pdf
• KYeCourt: https://kcoj.kycourts.net/kyecourt
• Form AOC-060 (Transcript Order): Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts