An appeal is generally started by filing a document called the “notice of appeal” in the lower tribunal (not the appellate court), with a copy of the order being appealed attached, within 30 days of when the order or judgment being appealed was entered. The party appealing, the appellant, must also pay the filing fee. The clerk’s office of the lower tribunal should have a list of how much the filing fees are for an appeal. The notice of appeal must generally be filed personally at the lower tribunal’s clerk’s office, unless electronic filing is permitted. A notice of appeal generally has to be received and recorded by the lower tribunal’s clerk before the 30-day deadline for the appeal (not just put in the mail). A parties can usually bring a second copy of the notice of appeal and ask the deputy clerk in the clerk’s office to stamp a date on it for the party’s own records.
The 30-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal is a “jurisdictional” deadline. This means that if the notice of appeal is not filed within the time limit, the appellate court usually will not have the power, or “jurisdiction,” to hear the appeal, and the appeal will be dismissed. The rest of the deadlines, such as the time limits for paying the filing fee, or for filing the appellate briefs, are also important and should be followed, but many are not “jurisdictional.” This means the appellate court still has the power to hear the appeal, but it may decide to dismiss for a party’s failure to follow the rules and procedures for the appeal.
An example of the general format for a notice of appeal is contained in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.900 (forms). A notice of appeal in a civil case might look like this:
| Mr. Smith, Defendant/Appellant v. Ms. Jones, Plaintiff/Appellee | Case No.____________ |
| NOTICE OF APPEAL | |
| Notice is hereby given that Defendant/Appellant, Mr. Smith, appeals to the Second District Court of Appeal the order of this court rendered on November 2, 2015. The nature of the order is a final judgment which is reviewable as a final order under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.110. [Attach a copy of the order appealed, per Rule 9.110(d)]. | |
| ________________________ Mr. John Smith [address, e-mail address, & phone number] | |
