Bill > A2908

Introduced Session

The bill limits the amount of the appeal bond in civil actions to the total value of the monetary judgment or $50 million, whichever is less. Under current law and the Rules of Court, a defendant who appeals a judgment ordering the payment of a monetary amount to the plaintiff may appeal that judgment and receive a temporary stay of the obligation to pay the monies, conditioned on posting an appeal bond. The appeal bond, also known as a supersedeas bond, is conditioned for the satisfaction of the judgment in full, together with interest and trial costs. This bill limits the total amount of the appeal bond or other forms of security required of all appellants collectively in a civil action to $50,000,000, in addition to trial costs. The bill also provides that it shall not be construed to eliminate the discretion of the court, after notice and hearing and for good cause shown, to reduce the appeal bond to a lower amount. The bill provides that if an appellee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an appellant is concealing its assets, or is dissipating or diverting assets outside the ordinary course of business to avoid payment of a judgment, a court may enter orders that: (1) are necessary to protect the appellee; and (2) require the appellant to post a supersedeas bond in an amount up to the total amount of the judgment. The bill provides that the phrase "dissipating or diverting assets" does not include expenditures, including incentive or other payments to the owners of a business, of a kind that the appellant made in the regular course of business prior to entry of the judgment being appealed. The bill defines a "civil action" as all cases involving individual, aggregated, class action, or otherwise joined claims, and defines "legal, equitable, or other relief" as all forms of relief, including compensatory, special, punitive, exemplary or other damages; injunctive relief; or any other form of relief. The bill is effective immediately and applies to all judgments entered on or after its effective date, regardless of the date the action was filed.

Committee Categories

Gary Schaer (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document