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Small Claims
What Happens After the Judge's Decision
[Esta página está en español;
Trang này bằng tiếng Việt]
This section tells you about:
- The
judge's decision
-
How to challenge the judge’s decision if
you did not go to court
-
How to challenge the judge's decision if you went to court
-
How to appeal the judge's decision
- Receiving the judge's decision
Notice of Entry of Judgment:
The “Notice of Entry of Judgment”
(SC - 130) is a court form that says what the judge's decision on
your case
is.
This form also tells you about your rights and lists the date the form was
mailed or given to you. This date is very important. You
have only 30 days from this date to file a
motion to vacate or
appeal.
Exception: If you are the defendant and you did not go to court because
you were not properly served with the
order to appear, you have 180 days to file a motion to vacate.
If the judge gives his or her decision right after hearing both sides of
the case, the court clerk will give you a copy of the Notice of Entry of
Judgment. If not, you’ll get it in the mail.
If you don’t get your Notice of Entry of Judgment in 2-3 weeks after your
hearing, call the court. Ask about your case. Tell the clerk your
case number
and the date of your hearing, and that you haven’t gotten your Notice of
Entry of Judgment. top of page
↑
Stay of Enforcement:
This is a court rule that stops a judgment that awards money or property
from being enforced for 30 days.
In those 30 days, the party that loses can:
- challenge the judgment
- pay, or
- do nothing
If you don’t challenge the judgment in 30 days, it will be final. If
the defendant hasn’t paid, the person who won can start proceedings to
enforce the judgment.
- How to challenge the judge’s
decision if you did not go to Court
If you didn’t go to your small claims hearing, you can’t use an appeal to
challenge the judge’s decision. You have to file a
motion
to vacate.
Defendant's motion to vacate:
If you are the defendant and you didn’t go to court, you can ask the court
to cancel (or “vacate”) the judge’s decision. You will have another
hearing. You have 30 days to file your motion after the clerk mails you
the Notice of Entry of Judgment (SC - 130).
Exception: If you weren’t properly served with the notice to appear, you
have 180 days to file.
Use the form called "Notice of Motion to Vacate (Cancel)
Judgment "
(SC - 135) to say why you didn’t go to court or why you weren’t
properly served.
You have to pay a filing fee. (See
Small
Claims fees on our main website.) top of page
↑
Motion to vacate hearing
The clerk will schedule a hearing for your motion. At the hearing, the
judge will decide if you had “good cause” for not going to the hearing.
The plaintiff can go to court to oppose your motion.
If the judge decides you had good cause, the old judgment will be
cancelled and you’ll get a new hearing. If the plaintiff is there, you’ll
have the hearing right away. Or, the judge will schedule another hearing.
If the judge decides you didn’t have “good cause” for not going to the
hearing, he or she will deny your motion.
Appeal your motion to vacate
If the judge denies your motion, you can appeal if:1. You are the
defendant; or
2. You are the plaintiff but lost on defendant's claim.
File a form called "Notice of
Appeal"
(SC - 140) within 10 days and pay a fee. You will get a notice of
your hearing date for your appeal in the mail.
At your appeal, the judge will decide if your motion should have been
approved. The plaintiff can go to oppose the appeal.
If the judge decides that your motion should have been approved, he or she
will cancel the judgment and you’ll get a new hearing. The hearing can
happen right away, or it can happen later on back in the small claims court.
If the judge decides that your motion should have been denied, he or she
will deny your appeal. This decision is final.
Plaintiff's motion to vacate:
If you are the plaintiff and you didn’t go to court, you can ask the court
to cancel (or “vacate”) the judgment. You will have another hearing.
You have 30 days to file after the clerk mailed you the Notice of Entry of
Judgment. Use the form called “Notice of Motion to Vacate (Cancel)
Judgment”
(SC - 135) to say why you did not go to the hearing.
You have to pay a filing fee.
top of page
↑
Motion to vacate hearing
The clerk will give you a hearing date for your motion. At the hearing,
the judge will decide if you had “good cause” for not going to your
hearing. The defendant can go to court to oppose your motion.
If the judge decides that you had good cause, then he or she will cancel
the judgment. You will get a new hearing. If the defendant is there, you
will have the hearing right away. Or, the judge will schedule another
hearing
If the judge decides you didn’t have good cause, he or she will deny your
motion. This judgment is final.
-
 How
to challenge the judge's decision if you went to Court:
If you went to your hearing and you want to challenge the judgment, you
can:
Request to correct or
vacate a judgment:
If you think the judgment is wrong, you can ask to fix a clerical error or
cancel the judgment because it’s legally wrong. Either the plaintiff or
the defendant can do this.
A clerical error is when there’s a mistake that the judge didn’t mean to
make, like spelling a plaintiff or defendant’s name wrong.
A judgment is incorrect or legally wrong if the judge didn’t apply the law
to the evidence in the right way.
Use the form called “Request to Correct or Vacate Judgment” (SC
- 108) to point out a clerical error in the judgment or to explain why
it’s legally wrong. The clerk will mail a copy to the other party. They
have 15 days to file a letter responding to the other party's request.
Make a note on the letter showing a copy was mailed ("cc'd") to the other
party and mail a copy to the other party.
After 15 days, the court will mail you its decision or set a hearing date.
If there is a clerical error, the judge will fix it. If the judgment is
wrong, the judge will cancel it and set a new hearing.
Note: The court assumes that all judgments are correct. A judgment
is not incorrect or legally wrong just because you don’t agree with how
the judge interpreted the
evidence. Also, it is not wrong just because you had evidence that
you didn’t show the court. top of page
↑
- Appealing the Judge's Decision
The Right To Appeal:
You can’t appeal a decision if you filed the claim. You can only appeal
the other party’s claim.
If your insurance covers the judgment, your insurance company can appeal
if the judgment is more than $2,500.
An appeal means that the whole case is heard again in the appellate level
of the Superior Court. If you won your claim
but lost the other person’s claim, you can’t just appeal the part of the
case you lost. If you appeal, the superior court will hear all the claims
again.
Things to think about before you appeal:
- An appeal can be much more complicated and expensive than your 1st
hearing.
- If you lose, the court can make you pay $150 for the other person’s
lawyer and $150 for their lost earnings and expenses. For more
information on this, see the
California Code of Civil Procedure section 116.780(c).
Note: If the appeal judge decides that you only appealed to harass or
delay the other party, or try to get them to drop their claim, the judge can make
you pay up to $1,000 of their lawyer’s fees and $1,000 of lost earnings
and expenses.
How To File An Appeal:
You only have 30 days to file your appeal after the Notice of Entry of
Judgment was mailed or given to you.
Use the form called “Notice of
Appeal”
(SC - 140) and pay the filing fee.
(See
local fee schedule.)
The judge’s decision won’t be enforced until your appeal is heard or
dismissed. Your appeal will be dismissed if you file it late or don’t pay
the filing fee. top of page
↑
Your Appeal Hearing:
The clerk at the appellate
level of the Superior Court will give you a hearing date. At the hearing you and the other party
will get to tell your side of the story again. The difference between an
appeal and the 1st hearing are:
- Your appeal hearing is in the superior court, not the small claims
court.
- You and the other party can hire lawyers to represent you.
When you go to your appeal hearing, be prepared to tell your side of
the case. Bring all of your witnesses and evidence. The appeals judge will
only look at the evidence that you bring to the appeal hearing.
Sometimes, the appeals judge will give his or her decision right after the
hearing is over. If you are there, the clerk will give you a copy of a
form called “Small Claims Appeal Judgment.” Or, the clerk will mail you a
copy. The Small Claims Appeal Judgment is final. You can’t challenge it
with a motion to vacate or an appeal.
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