Civil Appeals

Civil Appeal Attorney Chicago?

What are appeal bonds?

Being awarded a monetary judgment after trial does not mean that you will be paid anytime soon. Likewise, if you owe money to someone following a trial you can stay the monetary judgment while appealing the trial court. Illinois law requires a trial court to stay a monetary judgment if the court accepts an appeal bond. The appeal bond does not necessarily have to be cash but it can be a variety of different things such as securities, certificates of deposit, or anything else that has a value equal to the judgment plus interest and costs. In certain situations, a trial court can order an appeal bond that is less than the judgment amount.

Non-monetary judgments are treated differently. Generally, non-monetary judgments are not stayed unless it is just to stay the judgment. Whether a non-monetary award is entirely within the discretion of the judge and an appellate court will not reverse the judgment unless an abuse of discretion occurred – a very high burden to overcome. If a judge does grant an appeal bond in a non-monetary judgment, the judge is free to impose any reasonable conditions on the appeal bond.

Once the record is prepared, the appeals attorney must analyze the record for prejudicial errors. Then the appeals lawyer must research and write an appellate brief that complies with the myriad rules of appellate procedure. If we need to defend an appeal on your behalf, we will scrutinize the appellant’s briefs and we will formulate a written response on your behalf. As allowed by the appellate rules of procedure, we will also file a reply brief for you.