Utah State Civil Appeals ‐ Your Path to Justice in Utah’s Appellate Courts

Appealing a trial court decision is not just about disagreeing with the outcome—it’s about ensuring the law was applied correctly. The appellate process is complex, requiring a keen understanding of the law, rigorous analysis of trial court records, and the ability to present persuasive written and oral arguments. At Lotus Appellate Law, we specialize in civil appeals, offering clients the expertise and dedication needed to navigate Utah’s appellate courts successfully.

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Understanding the Civil Appeals process

Navigating the Complex Appellate Process in Utah

Civil appeals have tight deadlines, and failure to meet those deadlines can be a jurisdictional bar to the court hearing you case. Preserving your right to appeal is only the first step. Reach out to us today to discuss deadlines, appealable issues, and next steps in your case.

What Are Civil Appeals?

The category “civil appeals” is vast. Civil appeals generally include most appeals that are not criminal appeals. Civil appeals provide an opportunity in civil cases for an appellate court to correct errors made by a trial court. Unlike trial court litigation–where evidence is presented, witnesses testify, and juries deliberate–appeals focus on the legal questions arising from the trial.

Key aspects of a civil appeal include

Preserving Your Right to Appeal: Within 30 days of a final judgment, or within 21 days of an interlocutory decision, the appellant must file a notice of appeal, put the court and parties on notice that an appeal will be filed. Sometimes it is in a winning party’s best interest to file a notice of cross appeal in turn, preserving their right to contest any contrary rulings along the way. A notice of cross appeal must be filed within 14 days of the notice of appeal. Keep in mind that different statutes carry with them different filing requirements. For example, a party appealing a UPEPA ruling must file a notice of appeal within 15 days of the district court’s denial of their motion to dismiss.
Reviewing the Appellate Record: Appeals are limited to the evidence and proceedings presented in the trial court. All of the documents filed in the trial court plus the transcripts and evidentiary exhibits presented at trial make up an appellate record. An appellate court will not review the appellate record. Instead, appellate counsel is tasked with reviewing the trial court record, identifying important areas for the appellate court to review. It’s important that a party not place the burden of briefing or reviewing on the court. That is appellate counsel’s job alone.
Identifying Legal Errors: It is appellate counsel’s job to raise arguments for the appellate court to consider. Once those arguments are raised, the appellate court will determine whether the trial court misinterpreted the law or improperly applied procedural rules. But an appellate court cannot raise an issue sua sponte–or on its own. In order for an appellate court to reverse, the issue has to be presented to it in accordance with the rule of appellate procedure.
Crafting Appellate Briefs: In Utah, an appellate brief spans 30–60+ pages and is limited to 14,000 words. The Opening Brief is the most important part of any appeal. It sets the stage for the entire conversation. After the Opening Brief is filed, the appellee files a Responsive Brief, and then the appellant has the final word in a Reply Brief. Each jurisdiction has different rules requiring different parts of briefs, the word length, and different appellate doctrines. An appellate brief in Utah will look different than an appellate brief in California. As well, the judges in different jurisdictions will have different concerns. It’s important to understand the court you are practicing in front of.
Oral Arguments: In some cases, attorneys have the opportunity to answer questions that the appellate judges have during oral hearings. Oral argument is called when the judges believe speaking with the attorneys might impact their decision. While an appellate attorney may want to argue every case, it simply isn’t possible for the appellate courts to hold argument in every case. But there are things an attorney can do to increase the likelihood of getting their case called for oral argument.

Civil appeals require a different skillset than trial litigation, which is why choosing a law firm that focuses exclusively on appellate work is crucial. With Lotus Appellate Law, you’ll have a dedicated partner to help you navigate the appellate process expertly.

Appellate case law books on a shelf covering 1800s appeals — Appellate Court Cases from the early 1800s

Civil appeal oral argument at the court of appeals. — Civil appeal oral argument at the state court of appeals.

Watercolor drawing of courthouse. — Courthouse, Utah, USA

Common Types of Civil Appeals We Handle

We handle a wide variety of civil appeals in Utah, including:

Contract Disputes: Disagreements over contract interpretation, enforcement, or breach are often appealed, especially when significant financial stakes are involved. The Utah appellate courts value a plain language approach to contract interpretation. What does your contract say?
Business Litigation: Commercial disputes, such as those involving shareholder rights, fiduciary duty breaches, or corporate governance issues, often require appellate intervention to resolve.
Property Law: Appeals in property cases can include disputes over land use, zoning ordinances, eminent domain, and boundary issues. Some property issues carry with them constitutional implications.
Family Law: Emotional and high-stakes issues like custody arrangements, alimony, and property division can be revisited on appeal to ensure a fair application of the law to each family involved. In family law appeals, the amount of discretion the appellate court gives to district court determinations can make or break your case. Proper framing can be essential to a favorable outcome.
Personal Injury Verdicts: Tort law is governed by both the common law and statute, and the way those two intersect is confusing at times. An appeal may be necessary in a personal injury case to challenge or defend rulings on damages, liability, or evidentiary rulings that impacted the trial outcome.

Each of these areas requires a tailored approach, and our experience in handling diverse civil appeals means we are well-equipped to address even the most complex legal issues.

Why choose lotus Appellate law?

Appeals are high-stakes endeavors that demand specialized knowledge and a meticulous approach. At Lotus Appellate Law, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and achieving results for our clients. Here’s what sets us apart:

Proven Appellate Expertise: With years of experience in Utah’s appellate courts, we understand the intricacies of the law and the expectations of appellate judges.
Customized Advocacy: No two cases are alike. We develop strategies tailored to the specific facts and legal issues of your appeal.
Attention to Detail: Successful appeals hinge on identifying even the smallest errors in the trial record coupled with the most prejudicial errors. Our meticulous review process ensures nothing is overlooked.
Statutory Interpretation: In Utah, the appellate courts view the plain language of a constitutional provision or statute as controlling. Our attorneys excel at linguistic analysis and are even adept at using corpus linguistics as a tool when necessary.
A Record of Success: From criminal reversals to contracts and tort wins, we’ve helped clients achieve favorable outcomes in some of Utah’s most challenging cases.
A Big Picture Approach: Most appellate courts are less concerned with the outcome in any given case and are more concerned with the way any given outcome will impact future cases. At Lotus Appellate Law, we know our job is to do the research for the court, coming over-prepared to oral argument to answer the judges’ questions about the way this case will play out over time.

Our clients trust us not just for our legal knowledge but for our unwavering commitment to their success.

outside of courhouse — Outside a Courthouse, Utah, USA

The Challenges of Civil Appeals

Civil appeals are not easy, and the challenges can be significant. Unlike in the district court, in appeals, each phase can take many months. For example, it is not uncommon to take six months to file an opening brief, six or more months to get a responsive brief, and then a few months to file a reply brief. On top of that, you must wait many months for oral argument if your case is called for argument, and then after oral argument, you must await the court’s decision. Waiting will always be a challenge.

Cost is also a challenge. An appeal can cost as much as a trial (depending on the cost of the trial attorney), and that can prohibit many parties from choosing to appeal their case.

Utah mountain range — Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah, USA

Brief recap of the appellate process

File a Notice of Appeal: To initiate the appellate process, a notice of appeal must be filed within the applicable deadlines—typically 30 days from the trial court’s final decision. In cases where you are the appellee defending your win on appeal, it may still be necessary to file a notice of cross appeal. Notice of cross appeal must be filed 14 days from the date the opposing party files its notice of appeal.
Evaluate the Final Judgment or Verdict: Our team conducts a thorough review of the appellate record–including any written or oral orders–to identify appealable issues, such as legal errors or procedural mistakes.
Prepare the Appellate Brief: This Opening Brief is the backbone of any appeal. It identifies the most prejudicial errors made by the trial court and supports arguments with research and citations to the record. The opening brief does most of the work that can be done persuading a court to rule in your favor.
Present Oral Argument: In some cases, we present oral arguments to the appellate court, answering questions from the judges and advocating for your position. It is important in these arguments to over prepare to answer any questions the appellate panel has and to answer its questions directly and clearly, with support in the law.
Await the Court’s Decision: After reviewing the briefs and hearing oral arguments, the appellate court will issue its decision. This process can take several months. This can be the hardest part of the process.

Throughout this journey, we’ll keep you informed and guide you through every step. We are prepared to take your case from start to finish.

What Our Clients Are Saying: “Trusted Expertise in Appellate Law”

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Should you Hire an Appellate Law Firm?

Trial Attorneys

$$$$$

Broad understanding of district court rules
Limited understanding of appellate process
Oral advocacy style well suited to juries
Familiar with district court clerks
Unfamiliar with parts of appellate brief
May not have appellate clerkship
Reputation with district court judges, not appellate judges
Less efficient use of billable hours on appeal
A history of success in trial courts
Up-to-date trial court training

$$$

Experts in appellate court rules
Deep understanding of appellate process
Oral advocacy style well suited to judges
Familiar with appellate court clerks
Persuasive brief writing
Attorneys have appellate clerkships
Great reputation with appellate judges
Efficient use of billable hours
A history of success in appellate courts
Up-to-date appellate court training

Frequently Asked Questions

Utah Appellate Process

An appeal is a process where a higher court takes a look at the decision of a lower court to see if any legal errors made below affected the outcome of the case. To successfully appeal your case, you need to identify both an error and articulate the prejudice associated with that issue. An appellate court will not reverse an error if the error did not prejudice the outcome of the case.

Most cases, including civil, criminal, and family law cases, can be appealed if there is a legal basis to challenge the lower court’s decision that your trial attorney preserved. You’ll want to make sure your appellate attorney conducts a thorough review of the final determination, the judgment or verdict, and any rulings made along the way.

Possibly. If you believe the trial court made a legal error that affected the outcome of your case, you should at least look into it. Our attorneys can review your case to determine if an appeal is appropriate. A good appellate attorney can sometimes make a good-faith argument that the governing law should change in your favor.

You begin the process by filing a Notice of Appeal in the district court. You must file that notice “within 30 days after the entry of the judgment or order” you are appealing from. This deadline is not optional, and if you do not file the notice of appeal within that 30-day window, the appellate court will lose jurisdiction to consider your case. Only after you file your notice of appeal will you begin the rest of the process.

This window can be shorter in certain circumstances. For example, for interlocutory review of a non-final decision, the appealing party must file a notice within 21 days. And under UPEPA, the appealing party must file a notice of appeal within 15 days.

If you miss the 30-day or 21-day or 15-day window, there is not much you can do. You may file a motion to reinstate an appeal, but in Utah that motion will not be granted merely because you missed your deadline. Instead, that motion will be granted only if you can show the court that it should reinstate your appeal for one of the enumerated reasons listed in Rule 23A of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Yes. Your trial attorney can and should file a notice of appeal for you in the district court to preserve your right to appeal. This does not mean your trial attorney will represent you on appeal. It only means that he or she is preserving your right to appeal. A notice of appeal is a 1-page document that is easy to file. If you believe an appeal may be in your future, please ask your trial attorney to preserve your right to appeal by filing this notice right away.

An appeal generally takes about two years, from start to finish. There are some outliers that may take more time or less time, but the entire process is usually around two years.

Only after you file your notice of appeal will you begin the rest of the process. That process includes ordering transcripts of the proceedings, compiling a copy of the record, getting the briefing schedule from the appellate court, and having an appellate attorney review the record. After you have discussed any appealable issues with your appellate attorney, your attorney will draft and file your Appellant’s Opening Brief, and a briefing exchange ensues. If you are appellee in this process, you will only respond to the opening brief with an Appellee’s Responsive Brief. If you are appellant, you will file both an opening brief and an Appellant’s Reply Brief.

After briefing is completed, your case could be called for oral augment. An appellate court does not hear oral argument in every case; sometimes it issues a written order or opinion without argument. You may ask your attorney to request oral argument, but that request is not always granted. In the months after argument or after briefing, your case will be decided by a panel of judges who will then begin to draft the opinion. Once the opinion has been reviewed and edited by all of the judges on the panel, it is reviewed and edited by the appellate court clerks, and then it is published and made available to the public.

Generally, no. On appeal, the trial or pre-trial record is the entire factual universe that the appellate court will consider. An appeal is not a “second bite at the apple.” You should never count on making arguments or presenting evidence on appeal that you failed to present to the trial court. In fact, appeals are regularly denied when a party relies on evidence outside the record.

The one exception to this rule is found in criminal cases and is available in accordance with Rule 23B of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure. Under this rule, criminal defendants may try to admit evidence that their trial counsel provided unconstitutionally ineffective assistance at their trial. Under rule 23B, a motion is filed concurrently with the Appellant’s Opening Brief. That motion has attached to it any missing evidence that the trial court should have considered, along with affidavits attesting the evidence’s accuracy. If a prima facie showing of ineffective assistance of counsel is made in this motion, then the appellate court will remand the case back to the district court to admit the missing evidence. The missing evidence is admitted during an evidentiary hearing. Oftentimes trial counsel has the opportunity to testify and explain his or her strategy, or lack of strategy. The case is then sent back to the court of appeals for a final determination of ineffective assistance.

The number of issues you raise is not limited by rule, but in Utah your attorney must file an opening brief with 14,000 words or fewer. That is 1,000 words more than the United States Supreme Court allows. That is room for about three to four well argued issues. For that reason, which issues you raise will be strategically determined in conference with your appellate attorney. You should consider raising only your strongest issues.

To get a reversal on appeal, you must show not only that there was a legal error, but also that the error prejudiced the outcome. So the strongest issues on appeal are those issues that impacted the outcome of your case in a demonstrable way. That prejudice should be articulable from the record itself. It cannot be speculative or imaginary. It must truly undermine the court’s confidence in the final outcome.

Appeals usually cost less than trials, but, like trials, there are a lot of variables that factor in to cost. Some of those variables include how long the proceedings lasted, how many issues you raise, whether you file a reply brief, and whether the court hears oral argument. Another consideration in criminal cases is raises extra issues in 23B motions. Those issues can include extra-record investigations or missing expert testimony.

The answer to the attorney fee question depends on a number of things. First, you have to have a legal basis–in contract or statute–to collect attorney fees. Second, you can only collect attorney fees on appeal if you litigated attorney fees below. And third, you must be deemed the “prevailing party” in your matter. The question of who the prevailing party is is somewhat unclear. Some caselaw suggests that the amount you ultimately collect at the end of the day might make you the prevailing party, and some caselaw suggests that the number of issues you ultimately win on might make you the prevailing party.

The remedy depends on the issue won. In some instances, you will get a new trial. In some instances, the case will be remanded back to the trial court for the trial judge to reconsider things under a new lens. In some criminal matters, the entire case could be thrown out. Whether your case is remanded for reconsideration or thrown out entirely will entirely depend upon the particular mistake or legal error that the court considers.

If you win, you might. Some winning parties choose to settle with the opposing party. But in many cases, an issue is remanded back to the trial court for a determination consistent with the court’s opinion. So you might end up back at trial for a limited purpose.

Yes. There are a variety of post-trial motions you may file to encourage the district court judge to reconsider the outcome of your case. An appellate attorney can you help decide if any of these motions are appropriate in your case. But you must file them even more quickly than you must file a notice of appeal. So act fast.

Lotus Appellate Law handles appeals throughout Utah, serving clients in all counties and courts across the state. We frequently represent clients in major population centers, including Salt Lake County (Salt Lake City), Utah County (Provo), Davis County (Layton), Weber County (Ogden), and Washington County (St. George), but our appellate practice extends statewide. No matter where your case originates in Utah, we are prepared to provide experienced and strategic appellate advocacy.