APPEAL

a request to a higher court to review and reverse the decision of a lower court. On appeal, no new evidence is introduced; the higher court is limited to considering whether the lower court erred on a question of law or gave a decision plainly contrary to the evidence presented during trial. Unless special permission is granted by the higher court to hear an interlocutory appeal, an appeal cannot be made until the lower court renders a final judgment.

NOTICE OF APPEAL: document filed with the appellate court giving notice of an intention to appeal. It must be served on the opposing party and must comply with specified deadlines for filing.
TRIAL DE NOVO: historically, the appeal as it existed in equity allowed a trial de novo on law and facts, while processing at law allowed only a review on the record produced in the lower court for errors of law. Today this distinction largely has merged into one system. Equitable proceedings still, however, require a trial de novo more often than legal proceedings, unless it has been specifically proscribed by statute. For example, appeals from probate court decrees often are by trial de novo.
Source: Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms, Steven H. Gifis, 5th Edition; © 2016