What is an appeal and should you pursue one after litigation?

Business litigation can be tough. Contract disputes, fraud and tort claims, infringement of intellectual property rights – these are all examples of legal disputes that might lead a company toward litigation. And, as any business leader in Texas knows, litigation can be a long, drawn out and expensive ordeal. Once it is over, one way or another, many people are just happy to walk away.

But, what if the ultimate decision in the litigation didn’t go your way? What are your options, if any? In this type of situation, it is important to understand the potential appeal options, and whether or not your company should pursue an appeal after the initial litigation is over.

Appeal basics

An appeal, in short, is a challenge to a previous legal decision. When your company is involved in business litigation, you are typically at the trial court level of the judiciary branch of the state or federal government. If the trial court level decisions don’t go your way, you can file an appeal to the next level of court in the judiciary – an appellate court – to ask the higher-level court to review the decision of the trial court.

Of course, there is always a chance that the appellate level court might not rule in your favor either. In such a situation, you may be able to appeal to a court of last resort, such as the Texas Supreme Court or even the U.S. Supreme Court. However, before you even file the first level of appeal, you’ll want to analyze whether or not pursuing an appeal is worth the time and expense that will likely be involved.