New York State appeals - Interlocutory orders
If New York is home to the nation's heaviest appellate caseloads, it's natural to wonder what is so specialized about New York that makes its courts so busy.
To be sure, a city with over 8 million people has a lot of litigation. People breach contracts, get divorced, cause car accidents, suffer from medical mistakes, not to mention commit crimes—each of which can be the subject of a civil lawsuit or criminal proceeding. But this is true in a lot of places—does it explain the huge caseload in New York's courts?
In fact, the factor that puts such a heavy burden on the court system is—just like the nomenclature that puts the "Supreme Court" at the bottom of the state court hierarchy—unique to New York. It's called an interlocutory appeal. An interlocutory appeal is an appeal taken before the case reaches a final judgment, that is, while the rest of the case proceeds. New York's civil procedure law provides that in a case originating in the Supreme Court (as opposed to, for example, small claims court), a party may appeal from almost "any final or interlocutory" judgment (CPLR § 5701(a), emphasis added).
A disposition in a case is "final" only if it disposes of all substantive aspects of the case. So if a court order disposes of some claims but not all of them, or determines the claims as to some parties but not all of them, or grants a judgment of default but doesn't resolve the amount of damages, it's not final. These orders are, instead, interlocutory.
In most states, these orders are not appealable. You'd have to wait until all claims are litigated as against all parties and all damages have been assessed, before you could take an appeal.
But a motion-practice-heavy system where interlocutory appeals are allowed—in other words, a system like New York's—offers plenty of opportunities to ask a higher court to review a lower court's decision. Here are some examples of orders that a party can appeal from directly:
Compliance with a necessary condition to bring a lawsuit. Suing certain government defendants in New York requires filing a preliminary form called a notice of claim. If you miss the deadline and the court decides to allow you a late filing, the government defendant can appeal that decision right away, without waiting for a final judgment in the case.
Motion to amend pleadings. Sometimes the evidence exchanged during discovery shows that another claim lies besides those the plaintiff already pleaded, or it shows that the defendant has an additional defense available. Or the evidence may show that another entity needs to be added as a party defendant or party plaintiff. But the parties are only allowed to put in proof on claims or defenses that they've actually alleged, and relief is limited to those who are actually parties to the lawsuit. To add a claim, defense, or an additional party may require a motion for leave of court to amend the pleadings. This motion is another request for interlocutory relief which is immediately appealable in New York.
Discovery motions. The exchange of evidence during the discovery process can lead to disputes between the parties about who is entitled to what. To resolve these disputes, one party may ask the court for an order compelling discovery. In most states, the outcome of this dispute would have to wait for a final judgment before a party could ask a higher court to review it, but New York doesn't require this delay.
Summary judgment / judgment as a matter of law. Depending on the evidence, the parties may be able to make a motion for judgment as a matter of law, or what’s sometimes informally called a trial on paper. This means either that the facts which have come to light prove a claim so indisputably that there is no need to proceed with a trial, or that the facts which have come to light cannot possibly support the claims alleged and therefore the case should be dismissed. In either event, the moving party is asking for judgment as a matter of law, as opposed to waiting for a jury to decide the facts of the case. This too is a decision which could only be reviewed in other states after a final judgment, but which can be appealed right away in New York.
New York courts' ability to hear interlocutory appeals provides litigants with numerous opportunities to ask a higher court for review.