Fourth District, Division 1 Reminds Us All of An Important Lesson in the Appellate Arena.
The Fourth District, Division 1, provided us all with an important reminder of timely appealing judgments in order to preserve appellate jurisdiction. In Gravelle v. Aquadek, Case No. D054215 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 17, 2009) (unpublished), defendant lost a bench trial where an adverse judgment was entered on May 23, 2008 with an indication of “zero” for the amount of attorney’s fees and costs to be awarded. Later, on September 25, 2008, the trial court entered an amended judgment identical to the May 23 judgment except plaintiff was awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of $26, 240. Defendant appealed more than 180 days from the May 23, 2008 judgment, challenging only the merits judgment rather the fee award. Big mistake. The failure to appeal timely the May 23 judgment was fatal, requiring a dismissal of the appeal of the merits judgment. (Torres v. City of San Diego, 154 Cal.App.4th 214, 222 (2007).) Good reminder to make sure an appeal is taken, timely, from the right judgment.