AP-205 (1/18)(white cvr) APPELLEE INSTRUCTIONS District Court To Superior Court Appeals Court staff generally can inform you about court procedures, court rules, court records, and forms. Court staff must remain neutral and impartial. They are not allowed to give legal advice. Court staff cannot: advise you how statutes and rules apply to your case, tell you whether the documents you prepare properly present your case, tell you what the best procedures are to accomplish a particular objective, or interpret laws for you. If you need help with your case, you should talk to a lawyer. January 2018 ALASKA COURT SYSTEM http://www.courts.alaska.gov/forms/index.htm American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 251 Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2018 by Alaska Court System All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce the contents of this booklet, but not for profit, is hereby granted to governmental and non-profit educational institutions. However, reproduction of any part of this booklet for commercial purposes without the express written permission of the Alaska Court System is strictly prohibited. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-205 (1/18) 1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO AN APPEAL (When a District Court Judgment Is Appealed to the Superior Court 1 ) An appeal has been filed in a case in which you were a party. These instructions tell you, in general terms, what steps you must take to defend the appeal. Appeals to the superior court are governed by Appellate Rules 600-612. Appeals are complicated, and you should consider seeking a lawyer to assist you in defending the appeal. You may also want to ask the court for a copy of AP-200, Appellant Instructions, for more information about what is required of the party filing the appeal. I. DEFINITIONS. A. APPEAL. An appeal is a review by a higher court (in this instance, the superior court) of a lower court's (the district court's) final decision or judgment. An appeal is not a new trial. The superior court will not accept any new evidence. The only information the superior court will consider on appeal is the following: 1. the electronic recording of the trial; 2. any items offered as evidence at the trial; 3. the documents in the court file; and 4. legal briefs or memoranda filed in the appeal. B. APPELLANT. The appellant is the party who files the appeal. C. APPELLEE. The appellee is the party who defends against the appeal. II. HOW THE APPEAL BEGINS. A. Notice of Appeal. To start the appeal, the appellant had to file a notice of appeal with the court explaining the reasons for the appeal. You do not have to file a response to the notice at this time. Your opportunity to respond will occur later when the appellant files a legal brief or memorandum and serves it on you. B. Other Requests the Appellant May Make. There are, however, other requests which the appellant may make to which you may want to respond. The appellant must serve you with a copy of any request. You are not required to respond to any requests or 1 Appeals from the district court include formal civil appeals, small claims appeals, traffic and other minor offense appeals, criminal merit appeals and sentence appeals. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-205 (1/18) 2 motions filed by the appellant. However, if you oppose a request, you must file a written response with the court as follows: - If the request was mailed to you, your response must be filed within 10 days after the date the request was mailed to you. - If the request was personally served on you, your response must be filed within seven days after the date you received the request. Form AP-140, Response to Request, is enclosed for this purpose. You may obtain additional copies of this form at the court or online at the website on the cover of this booklet. The court will notify you of its decision. The following are some requests the appellant may make at the same time the appellant files the notice of appeal: 1. Request to Accept Late Filed Appeal. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the district court judgment is distributed. In order to file an appeal after this deadline, the appellant must file a request asking the court to accept a late filed notice of appeal. 2. Request to Waive Filing Fee. The appellant may file a request asking the court to waive the filing fee for the appeal because the appellant cannot afford to pay it. 3. Motion To Waive or Reduce Cost Bond. In civil cases and small claims cases, before an appeal will be accepted, the appellant must also file one of the following: - a $750 cost bond; or - a motion to waive or reduce cost bond; or - a supersedeas bond (discussed in paragraph 4 below). The purpose of requiring the appellant to file a cost bond is to make sure your costs to defend the appeal (attorney fees, etc.) will be paid by the appellant if the appeal is dismissed or if the appellant loses the appeal. The appellant may, however, file a motion asking the court to waive or reduce the amount of the cost bond. 4. Request For Approval of Supersedeas Bond. The appellant may prefer to file a supersedeas bond rather than a cost bond because filing a supersedeas bond will stop any writs of execution from being issued to collect the district court judgment while the appeal is pending. Filing a cost bond will not stop execution. The reason a supersedeas bond stops execution is because the amount of the American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-205 (1/18) 3 supersedeas bond is 125% of the amount of the judgment, which is high enough to make sure that not only your appeal costs but also the amount of the judgment will be paid by the appellant if the appellant loses the appeal (or the appeal is dismissed). If the appellant wants to file a supersedeas bond, the appellant must file a request for approval of the bond. The appellant must serve you with a copy of the bond and request. The court will not wait for a response from you before deciding to approve or disapprove the bond. Nonetheless, you may file a motion objecting to the bond, and the court will reconsider the approval of the bond. You may use form AP-135. 5. Motion to Waive or Reduce Supersedeas Bond. If the appellant thinks 125% of the judgment is unnecessarily high or if the appellant believes he/she cannot afford to post 125% of the judgment, the appellant may file a Motion to Waive or Reduce Supersedeas Bond. The court will notify you of its decision. If the court orders a supersedeas bond to be posted, the appellant must file a surety bond or cash deposit in the amount set by the court before execution on the judgment will be prohibited during the appeal. See section IX about the return of the bond after the appeal is over. III. COPIES TO OTHER PARTIES. If you file a response or any other document with the court, you must send a copy to the appellant. The court rules require each party to send to all other parties a copy of any document which that party files with the court. Proof that this has been done must be shown on or attached to each document you file. Appellate Rule 602(j). It is called proof of service. The forms which the court provides for your use include a certificate of distribution section which, if completed, will satisfy the requirement for proof of service. Note: If another party is represented by an attorney, the documents must be served on the attorney instead of the party. IV. ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGE. Enclosed with these instructions is a notice of the judge assigned to the appeal. V. BRIEFING SCHEDULE. A legal brief or memorandum is a document which explains your side of the case to the judge. (In an appeal to the superior court from the district court, you may American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com AP-205 (1/18) 4 file a memorandum instead of a brief.) When the case is ready for briefing, the court will send you and the appellant a Notice Setting Appeal Procedure (form AP-305). This form will tell you the time schedule for filing memoranda and requesting oral argument. You are not required to file an appellee's memorandum. However, if you do not file one, it may result in a decision for the