SB 1478 is authored by State Senator Tom Harman and sponsored by the Civil Justice Association of California. It would place a cap on the amount a defendant must post in order to stay a judgment and appeal a verdict.
California law requires defendants to post 150 percent of a judgment to have an appeal heard. Quite frankly, this is unfair and onerous. These days, enormous verdicts have become fairly common, and forcing defendants to post 150 percent of a judgment to appeal can force businesses into bankruptcy.
A litigant’s right to appeal an adverse judgment is a bedrock principle in our system of justice. The combination of a huge plaintiff’s verdict and the defendant’s inability to post an appeal bond means that a judgment will evade appellate review.
SB 1478 would place a $25 million cap on the amount a defendant must post as a bond in order to stay a judgment and pursue an appeal. For small businesses, the bill would set that limit at $1 million. This law would align California with federal law and many other states that have implemented reforms of appeal bond requirements.
CALA believes SB 1478 is worthy legislation and would be a step in the right direction for California. Please support this legislation and help us put California back on track to creating jobs, not adding to the unemployment rolls.
To tell your legislators to support SB 1478, click here.