Appellate Insights

After suffering an adverse trial court ruling that isn’t immediately appealable, litigators often wonder whether they should seek discretionary review in the Court of Appeal via a writ petition.  The answer is case-specific because it depends on many factors.  But there is one overarching theme to remember:  A decision to seek writ review must be made quickly, because the deadlines are short.

• Some types of orders have statutory deadlines for seeking writ review – usually just 10-20 days from notice of entry of the order.
• The deadline is 20 days for a type of order that often provokes litigants to consider writ review:  a grant or denial of summary adjudication.
• Absent an applicable statutory deadline, writ petitions should be filed within 60 days after the challenged ruling.

►  The practical message:  Deciding whether to file a writ petition requires careful analysis.  But begin that analysis promptly so that if you do decide to proceed, there will be time to draft the petition within the short deadlines.