Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California
Please! I need help from an appellate attorney for a civil case!
After Housing Authority erroneously terminated my rental assistance and a lack of any fair appeal by informal hearing,�I filed in superior court a petition for writ of mandamus; the housing authority has a county attorney who fights me on petty technicalities all the way up to oral argument. That day comes and the judge takes the case under submission said we would receive his decision in the mail.
85 days pass so I call the clerk just to be sure I didn't miss a decision notice, the clerk was not rude but did say that no decision was made on the case yet and I would be notified in mail when one is made.
The very next morning on the courts website a minute order is entered which say under-submission ruling
It says that having taken case under submission on 12/3/2012 having considered the arguments by both parties written and oral plus all the evidence presented the court now rules:
The petition for writ of mandate is DENIED.
Court orders clerk to give notice.
Is that going to be the only explanation I'll be given? After 85 days under submission? Or was is more that ooopps! my case was overlooked and my calling the day before pointed out the 90day limit so they just denied it.
I contested most every point the respondent claim plus again they have no evidence to support this, only speculative allegations! How can the court not mention the points in their decision to deny me this writ? Am I going insane?
How does one appeal this decision?!
2 Answers from Attorneys
The court probably ruled when it did because its time was about to run out, not because you called.
The order you receive in the mail might include more information. But it might not. Parties are allowed to ask the court for a statement of decision which explains the ruling. Where a case is tried in a single day, or in a total of less than eight hours over multiple days, the request must be made before the court takes the case under submission. It sounds like that is what happened here. If it did and you failed to request a statement of decision, then the court doesn't have to give you one.
If the trial took longer, then the court should have given you a tentative ruling at some point. You would then have had ten days in which to request a statement.
The denial of your petition should be appealable just like a regular judgment. Starting the appeal is easy; all you need to do is file a timely notice and either pay the required fees or get a fee waiver. But you will then have to file a brief explaining why the trial court was wrong and why its error justifies a reversal. That may be much harder if you could have sought a statement of decision but didn't. Later, you will have to reply to the opposing brief. Then there will be an oral argument before three appellate justices. You will also have to meet a number of procedural requirements along the way.
Appeals are not easy. You should hire an appellate attorney to represent you, or at least to consult with you.
Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss your case. I'm a certified appellate specialist (per the State Bar of California's Board of Legal Specialization) with almost 20 years of experience in the field.
The process of an appeal is straightforward -- file review, research, pleadings, filings, briefs, opposition briefs, hearing, etc. You can expect up to two years or more before the hearing is set.
The cost of an appeal is substantial, including attorney fees, obtaining copies of all file records and hearing transcripts, etc. You need to decide if you are able and willing to spend that money, knowing it is entirely at risk with no assurance of success. No attorney is going to promise you a win, since there is a low statistical chance of winning.
If you are serious about hiring counsel for this, feel free to contact me.
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