In General | Filing of Notice of Appeal | Obtaining the Transcript of the Trial | Procedure for Making Proposed Amendments | Serving the Transcript | Settlement of the Transcript | The Appellate Term

In General

An appeal cannot be taken from anything other than an Order or a Judgment made by a Judge. Judgments made by an Arbitrator or Referee are not appealable. Where matters have been settled by mutual agreement of the parties, or on default, no appeal is possible. You should consult an attorney regarding other legal remedies you may have.

The appeal process may be costly. The Court Reporter is permitted to charge a fee based on the length of the transcript which must be prepared. It is suggested that you contact the Court Reporter to obtain an estimate of the cost of preparing a typewritten transcript of the minutes of the trial. You may consider the information useful in determining whether or not to appeal. You may also qualify for Poor Person's Relief which would pay for the cost of the appeal. To find out where to contact the Court Reporters in your county, click on Locations.

An appeal must be filed within 30 days from the service of the Judgment or Order appealed from. If a copy of the judgment or order is not served, there are no time limitations on the filing of the appeal.

An appeal does not stay (stop) the execution of a judgment. To stay the enforcement of a money judgment either an "Undertaking" by bond or certified check or an Order from the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court is required.

An appeal does not mean a new trial or the presenting of new evidence. Rather, it is a review of the relevant portion(s) of the court file and the relevant portion(s) of the transcript of the trial minutes by the judges of the Appellate Term of the State Supreme Court.

If you are interested in appealing a small claims judgment or order, continue reading the procedure set forth below.

Filing of Notice of Appeal

The form required to appeal may be downloaded for free by clicking on Notice of Appeal or you may obtain the form from the Appeals Clerk in your county.

Fill out the Notice of Appeal then make two copies. Have someone who is over the age of 18 and not a party "serve" a copy on the opponent. (If the opponent has an attorney, the attorney must be served.) Such service may be by mail or in person. The server must fill out the Affidavit of Service form and have it notarized.

The original Notice of Appeal with the Affidavit of Service must be filed with the court, and the appeal fee paid. To find out the cost of the fee click on Court Fees. To find out where to file the Notice of Appeal in your county, click on Locations.

The remaining copy should be retained by you for your records.

Obtaining the Transcript of the Trial

The appellant (the one who makes the appeal) must order and pay for a transcript of the minutes of the trial from the Court Reporter or transcribing service. The appellant must contact the Court Reporter or transcribing service to make arrangements for the actual production of the transcript. To find out where to contact the Court Reporters in your county, click on Locations. You may qualify for Poor Person's Relief which would pay for the cost of the appeal.

Procedure for Making Proposed Amendments

Within 15 days after receiving the transcript, the appellant shall make any proposed amendments by following the procedure below.
1. The appellant should read the transcript.
2. If there is an error in the transcript, for example, the transcript says that the time that an incident occurred was 3:30 P.M. when the testimony given at the trial was 2:30 P.M., the appellant should make a notation of the page and line number. After he/she has reviewed the whole transcript, he/she should label a piece of paper "Proposed Amendments and Objections," list each page number and line which the appellant proposes to amend, and write in the proposed amendment. Following the prior example, the entry would be: Page 14, Line 6: 3:30 P.M. should be 2:30 P.M.

The Appellant should then make a copy of the proposed amendments and objections list, and attach it to the transcript. It must then be served on the respondent by following the procedure below.

Serving the Transcript

A Notice of Transmittal of Transcript, a copy of the transcript and the copy of proposed amendments and objections, must then be served on the respondent by someone over 18 years of age and not a party. You may download the form required to send the transcript to the respondent by clicking on Notice of Transmittal of Transcript, or you may obtain the forms from the appeals clerk in your county.

The respondent shall make any proposed amendments or objections and serve them on the appellant or his/her attorney within 15 days. After the 15 day period has expired, the appellant may settle the transcript (see below) whether or not the respondent has served objections.

Settlement of the Transcript

The transcript must be "settled" by the Judge who heard the case or by agreement of the parties. In this instance the word "settled" is used to mean that the transcript of the minutes of the trial and the proposed amendments and objections will be examined or reviewed for accuracy and finalized by the court. You may click on Notice of Settlement of Transcript to download the form you need or you may obtain the form from the appeals clerk in your county.

The Notice of Settlement of Transcript form is intended to notify the opposing party or his/her attorney of the date on which the Judge will settle the transcript. You need not appear in Court on that day. The opposing party or his/her attorney must be given at least four days advance notice (nine days if service of the Notice of Settlement is by mail) of the scheduled date of such settlement. The person who serves the Notice of Settlement must fill out an Affidavit of Service. The Affidavit of Service must be notarized.

The Notice of Settlement of Transcript form is to be filled out in triplicate and distributed as follows.
Copy 1, The Original, along with the transcript of the minutes of the trial (with the objections and/or proposed corrections, if any) is to be submitted to the Appeals Clerk before the day of settlement. The Appeals Clerk will provide all the papers to the trial judge on the day of settlement along with the Affidavit of Service.
Copy 2, must be "served" on the opposing party or his/her attorney by someone over 18 years of age and not a party to the action, notifying him/her of the date on which the judge will settle the transcript.
Copy 3, should be retained by you as your record.

The Appellate Term

After the transcript is settled, the Appeals Clerk will prepare a Clerk's Return on Appeal and submit it to the Appellate Term with the transcript, Notice of Appeal, court record, and any other related papers.

You must perfect (complete the filing of) your appeal with the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court in accordance with their rules, regulations and instructions. To find out where the Appellate Term is in your county, click on Locations.