In his recent Daily Journal article, “It Gets Tricky,” Gary A. Watt explains the ramifications of the recently decided Silver v. Pacific American Fish Co. Inc. 2010 Cal.App. LEXIS 2014 and its impact on appealing awards of attorney fees and costs. In the case, Silver filed a “notice of appeal before the order granting attorney fees was filed,” but did not “file a separate notice of appeal from the order awarding fees.” This ultimately resulted in a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

According to Gary, Silver was relying on two exceptions that in the end, did not apply. Gary warns fellow attorneys to be careful and notes that “one place to look to see whether a postjudgment order is separately appealable is Code of Civil Procedure Section 904.1.”

Gary A. Watt is a partner at Archer Norris and a member of the firm’s appellate practice team. He teaches appellate advocacy at UC Hastings, is director of the Hastings Appellate Project’s 9th Circuit clinical program and chair of the Contra Costa County Bar Association’s appellate practice section.

Gary frequently blogs about appellate issues at www.caappellatelaw.com. Recent posts include:

• Word Wars
• Stimulus Package
• New Year – Tall Orders

The article was originally published in the Daily Journal and subscription-based Daily Journal website at www.dailyjournal.com.