10.5 Judgments, Enforcement & Appeals

A favorable verdict is not the end of the file. The PCCE wants you to separate default from default judgment, recite the Rule 56 standard, know that a judgment is a specific document, and calendar the notice of appeal. Enforcement and many collection devices are state-procedure problems that federal Rule 69 borrows.

Default, summary judgment, JMOL, and new trial

Rule 55(a) directs the clerk to enter the party’s default when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise. Default is the notation. Default judgment is a separate step under Rule 55(b). The clerk may enter judgment only if the claim is for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation, the defendant is neither a minor nor an incompetent person, and the other Rule 55(b)(1) conditions are met. In all other cases, the court enters the judgment (Rule 55(b)(2)), and the court may hold a hearing on damages. If the party has appeared, the rule requires written notice of the application at least seven days before the hearing. The court may set aside an entry of default for good cause, and it may set aside a final default judgment under Rule 60(b) (Rule 55(c)). Chapter 9 already flagged the vocabulary. Here the exam adds the two-step and the clerk-versus-court split.

Rule 56 is summary judgment. The court shall grant it if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A fact is material if it could affect the outcome under the governing law. A dispute is genuine if a reasonable jury could find for the nonmovant. The court views the record in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and does not weigh credibility. Parties cite depositions, documents, ESI, affidavits or declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials in the record (Rule 56(c)). A jury demand does not block Rule 56; the whole point is to avoid trying a case that the law has already decided. Partial summary judgment can prune claims, defenses, or issues (Rule 56(a), Rule 54(b)).

After a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial, Rule 50(a) lets the court grant judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) if a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue. Rule 50(b) is the renewed motion after the verdict (the modern version of JNOV). Rule 59 is a motion for a new trial or to alter or amend a judgment — for example, when the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, an error tainted the trial, or the damages are excessive. In federal court those post-trial motions are generally due no later than 28 days after entry of judgment (Rules 50(b), 59(b), 59(e)). Rule 60 is relief from a final judgment for the listed reasons (mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, a void judgment, satisfaction, or any other reason that justifies relief), on a different clock.

What a judgment is — Rules 54 and 58, costs, and stays

Rule 54(a) defines judgment as a decree and any order from which an appeal lies. A judgment should not include recitals of pleadings, a master’s report, or a record of prior proceedings. Rule 54(b) lets the court, in a multi-claim or multi-party case, direct entry of a final judgment as to fewer than all claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay and expressly directs entry. Without that certification, a partial ruling usually is not a final appealable judgment.

Rule 54(d) is costs and certain attorney’s fees. Costs other than attorney’s fees should be allowed to the prevailing party unless a federal statute, the rules, or a court order provides otherwise. The clerk may tax costs on 14 days’ notice; the court may review. Fee-shifting, when it exists, is a statute or contract problem, not a hidden FRCP entitlement to fees in every case.

Rule 58 requires every judgment to be set out in a separate document, with limited exceptions. The separate-document rule is how you know when the judgment was entered for appeal-time purposes (see also Rule 58(c) and FRAP 4(a)(7)). Do not treat a docket minute entry, a verdict, or an opinion as the judgment unless it actually is entered as one.

Rule 62 governs stays of execution. Some judgments are automatically stayed for a short period after entry; longer stays often require a bond or other security. A supersedeas bond is the classic way to stay a money judgment pending appeal. Do not tell a client that filing a notice of appeal by itself freezes collection — it usually does not.

Enforcing the judgment

Winning on paper does not put money in the trust account. Rule 69 says a money judgment is enforced by a writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise, and the procedure must accord with the procedure of the state where the court is located, except that a federal statute governs to the extent it applies. That is the PCCE’s enforcement sentence: federal judgment, state collection machinery, unless a federal statute takes over.

Common devices — names the exam expects, with the warning that mechanics vary by state:

• Execution — a writ directing the sheriff or marshal to seize non-exempt property to satisfy the judgment.
• Garnishment — a process against a third party (employer, bank) who holds property or wages of the judgment debtor.
• Abstract of judgment — a summary of the judgment recorded in a county’s real-property records.
• Judgment lien — a lien that attaches to the debtor’s real property once the abstract or judgment is recorded as state law provides.

Exemptions, wage percentages, homestead rules, and recording offices are state-specific. On the PCCE, name the device and say state procedures vary. Do not invent a national wage-garnishment percentage as if the FRCP supplied one. Discovery in aid of execution is available under the procedure Rule 69 incorporates. Rule 70 addresses vesting title and contempt when a judgment requires a deed or other specific act.

Appeals — as of right, notice, record, and standards

Not every disappointment is appealable now. An appeal as of right generally lies from a final decision of the district court (28 U.S.C. § 1291) — the decision that ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing but execution. Interlocutory appeals are the exception: specified injunction orders (28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)), a discretionary § 1292(b) certification, a Rule 54(b) judgment, or a collateral-order doctrine case. Discretionary review is the Supreme Court’s certiorari model and, in some systems, intermediate-court permission grants. When the stem says “the loser may appeal,” ask first: is there a final judgment, a Rule 54(b) certification, or a recognized interlocutory path?

FRAP 4(a) is the civil notice-of-appeal clock. In a civil case, the notice of appeal must be filed with the district clerk within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from. If one of the parties is the United States, a U.S. agency, or a U.S. officer or employee sued in an official capacity (or in an individual capacity for an act or omission occurring in connection with duties), the time is 60 days. Certain timely post-judgment motions (Rule 50, 52(b), 59, 60 within the Rule 59 window) reset the appeal clock until the order disposing of the last such remaining motion. Filing in the wrong court can be cured as FRAP 4(d) provides, but missing the time is usually fatal.

The record on appeal (FRAP 10) includes the original papers and exhibits filed in the district court, the transcript of proceedings (if any), and a certified copy of the docket entries. The paralegal orders the transcript from the court reporter, designates the record, and assembles the appendix the circuit’s local rules require. Appellate briefing is counsel’s writing: the appellant’s opening brief, the appellee’s response, and a reply. The paralegal shepardizes, pulls the record cites, checks the addendum of orders, and calendars the circuit’s length and font rules. Oral argument is the attorney’s.

Standards of review tell the appellate court how much deference to give:

Worked path. The jury returns a $400,000 verdict on Monday. The partner says: “Enter the judgment, garnish the defendant’s bank this week, and file the appeal Friday if the judge does not grant JMOL.” Sequence it. Prepare the Rule 58 separate document for the clerk; do not treat the verdict as self-executing. Calendar 28 days for a Rule 50(b) renewed JMOL and a Rule 59 new-trial motion. Calendar FRAP 4(a)’s 30 days (60 if the United States is a party) from entry of the judgment, and know that a timely Rule 50/59 motion tolls that appeal clock. Execution follows Rule 69 and state garnishment procedure — and a Rule 62 stay or bond may block collection if the other side is the one appealing. Draft the notice of appeal for counsel’s signature; do not tell the client that “we appealed” has already stayed the judgment.