Putting the Brakes on Litigation: Stays Pending Review

If you want to appeal a court decision, you may need to ask the court to put a “stay” on the decision so that it doesn’t take effect while you appeal. This is important because if things keep moving forward while you’re trying to appeal, it could make the appeal pointless. In Florida, there are specific rules for how to ask for a stay while you appeal, and the court has some flexibility in deciding whether to grant it. If the judgment is just for money, you’ll need to put up a bond as a guarantee if you want the decision to be put on hold while you appeal. In most cases, if someone wants to put a hold on a court decision while it’s being reviewed, they need to ask the lower court for permission. The lower court can decide to grant, change, or deny the hold even after the appeal process has started. The court will consider things like how likely the person is to win the case and how they could be hurt if the hold isn’t granted. The point is to make sure the person who won the case will still get paid if the decision is upheld. The amount of money someone has to put up for the hold doesn’t have to be directly related to the final damages they may have to pay. The conditions for a hold can change from case to case, and the lower court has a lot of freedom to decide what those conditions should be. If you want to put a hold on a money judgment while you appeal it, you have to post a bond in the amount of the judgment plus two years of interest. This protects the person who won the judgment in case you don’t end up winning your appeal. It’s important to follow this rule to make sure the judgment can be paid if your appeal doesn’t work out. If a judgment includes both money and other types of relief, the trial judge can decide whether to put a hold on the judgment and what conditions to put in place. Public entities and officials are automatically allowed to put a hold on a judgment if they are appealing, but the lower court can still change or remove the hold if needed. If they are not automatically allowed to put a hold, they can still ask for one and the lower court will decide on the conditions. If a government agency is appealing an order to open a public meeting or record, the hold will only last for 48 hours to balance the public’s right to information with the agency’s need for a quick review. A stay is a temporary pause in a legal proceeding. In an administrative context, such as a license suspension, a party can request a stay while the case is being reviewed. If a license is suspended, a stay is usually granted unless it poses a danger to the state. The agency or court can grant a stay, and the process for obtaining it is outlined in the law. Once a stay is granted, it remains in effect until a final decision is made, unless it is modified or removed. The court can also evaluate factors to determine whether to extend a stay. If a motion to stay is denied, it can be reviewed by a higher court. If a party wants to stop a court decision from being enforced, they can ask the court to put a hold on it. The court has the power to do this, but it’s better to ask for the hold before the decision is finalized. If the lower court makes a decision about the hold, it can be reviewed by the higher court. It’s important to know the rules and time limits for asking for a hold to make sure things stay the same while the case is being reviewed. This article talks about when a court can stop a decision from taking effect while it’s being reviewed. It’s only about state civil and administrative proceedings, and it doesn’t apply if the case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court can decide what conditions there are for the stay, like if the person appealing has to pay a bond. If the judgment is for money, the court can decide if the stay should stop the person from having to pay right away. This is different from the rules for federal court cases. When a court decides on a judgment, the amount of the bond required to stay the execution of the judgment is determined by a fixed formula. The appellant must comply with the rules by posting a bond to stay the execution of the judgment. Orders directing the disbursement of funds or to pay child support may not be considered money judgments. There are specific rules and provisions for automatic stays in certain civil commitment proceedings. Government agencies seeking review may apply to a lower tribunal. If a student wants to appeal a school expulsion, they should ask the school for permission to wait before the appeal is reviewed. There are rules about when a decision from the court will happen, and the court won’t wait longer than 15 days after the decision is made. If someone wants to delay the decision, they have to ask the court before the 15 days are up. These are references to different legal cases and laws in Florida. They talk about things like when an appellate court can change its decision, and the qualifications of a lawyer who specializes in appeals. The last paragraph talks about the person who wrote the article and the organization that they are a part of.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/putting-the-brakes-on-litigation-stays-pending-review/