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Every year the Tennessee Administrative Office of the
Courts
publishes the “Annual Report of
the Tennessee Judiciary” to provide, in part, information on appellate cases
in Tennessee (this report also provides comprehensive statistics on the trial
courts in Tennessee). The fiscal year,
2011 - 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012), report is the most recent report
that has been released and it provides fascinating details about all aspects of
Tennessee litigation. This post will
concentrate on some statistical information on interlocutory (Rule 9) and extraordinary
(Rule 10) Appeals in Tennessee. I cannot
cover everything in this post so I recommend you review the full
report
if you have the opportunity. It is 339
pages long so there is a lot of good statistical information.
Interlocutory
Appeal by Permission of the Trial Court:
Under Tennessee Rule of
Appellate Procedure 9,
parties have the ability to pursue an interlocutory appeal by permission from
the trial court. An interlocutory appeal
is an appeal in a case before the entire case is final. Under Rule 9, a party must file a motion
seeking an interlocutory appeal within 30 days “after the date of entry of the
order appealed from.” If the trial court
grants this motion, a party is not guaranteed to be heard by the appellate
court. Rule 9 provides that if the trial
court grants the motion, then an application for permission to appeal must be
filed with the appellate clerk within 10 days of the trial court order. Then, “the appellate court may thereupon in
its discretion allow an appeal from the order.”
If the intermediate appellate court denies the application for
permission to appeal, then a “Application for Permission to Appeal from Denial
of Rule 9 Application” can be filed with the Tennessee Supreme Court.
In the 2011 – 2012 fiscal year, a total of
116 applications for Rule 9 and Rule 10 (see below) appeals were decided by the
intermediate appellate courts (Rule 9 and 10 application statistics at the
intermediate appellate level are not separated). Only 27 were granted. As a result the success rate on Rule 9 and 10
appeals to the intermediate appellate court was approximately 23%.
Appeals to the Tennessee Supreme Court for
the appellate court’s denial of a Rule 9 appeal application resulted in a total
of four Rule 9 applications granted by the Tennessee Supreme Court. A total of 20 Rule 9 applications were denied
by the Tennessee Supreme Court. As a
result, the success rate on Rule 9 applications to the Tennessee Supreme Court
was approximately 17%.
Extraordinary
Appeal by Permission of the Appellate Court
Under Tennessee Rule of
Appellate Procedure 10, parties have the ability to file an application with
the appellate court for an extraordinary appeal. This type of appeal is allowed according to
the Tennessee appellate rules in the following circumstances:
(1) if the lower court has so far departed from the accepted and usual
course of judicial proceedings as to require immediate review, or (2) if
necessary for complete determination of the action on appeal as otherwise
provided in these rules.
This type of appeal is often used if the
trial court does not allow an interlocutory appeal under Rule 9 as discussed
above. In the 2011 – 2012 fiscal year, a
total of 116 applications for Rule 9 (see above) and Rule 10 appeals were
decided by the intermediate appellate courts (Rule 9 and 10 motion statistics
at the intermediate appellate level are not separated). Only 27 were granted. As a result the success rate on Rule 9 and 10
appeals to the intermediate appellate court was approximately 23%.
Appeals to the Tennessee Supreme Court for
the appellate court’s denial of a Rule 10 appeal application resulted in a
total of three Rule 10 applications granted by the Tennessee Supreme
Court. A total of 30 Rule 10
applications were denied by the Tennessee Supreme Court. As a result, the success rate on Rule 10
applications to the Tennessee Supreme Court was approximately 9%.
Follow me on Twitter at @jasonalee for updates from the Tennessee Defense Litigation
blog.
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