Rule 79a-2. Time To Appeal

(a) General provisions Unless a different period is provided by statute, appeals from judgments of the Superior Court in child protection matters shall be filed within twenty days from the issuance of notice of the rendition of the decision or judgment from which the appeal is filed. A judge may, for good cause shown, extend the time limit provided for filing the appeal. In no event shall the judge extend the time for filing the appeal to a date which is more than twenty days from the expiration date of the initial appeal period, except in the case of an appeal in a termination of parental rights proceeding, for which the time for filing an appeal may be extended to a date no more than forty days from the expiration of the initial appeal period. Where a motion for extension of the period of time within which to appeal has been filed at least ten days before expiration of the time limit sought to be extended, and such motion is denied, the party seeking to appeal shall have no less than ten days from issuance of notice of the denial of the motion for extension in which to file the appeal.

(b) When appeal period begins If notice of the judgment or decision is given in open court, the appeal period shall begin on that day. If notice of the judgment or decision is given only by mail or by electronic delivery, the appeal period shall begin on the day that notice of the judgment or decision is sent to counsel of record by the clerk for juvenile matters. The failure to give notice of judgment to a nonappearing party shall not affect the running of the appeal period.

(c) How a new appeal period is created If a motion is filed within the appeal period that, if granted, would render the judgment or decision ineffective, then a new twenty day appeal period for filing the appeal shall begin on the day that notice of the ruling is given on the last such outstanding motion. Such motions include, but are not limited to, motions that seek: the opening or setting aside of the judgment; a new trial; reargument of the judgment or decision; or any alteration of the terms of the judgment. Motions that do not give rise to a new appeal period include those that seek: clarification or articulation, as opposed to alteration, of the terms of the judgment or decision; a written or transcribed statement of the trial court's decision; or reargument or reconsideration of a motion listed in this paragraph. If, within the appeal period, any application is filed, pursuant to Section 79a-4, seeking waiver of fees, costs and security or appointment of appellate counsel, a new twenty day appeal period or statutory period for filing the appeal is not created. If a party files, pursuant to Section 66-6, a motion for review of the denial of any such application, a new appeal period shall begin on the day that notice of the ruling is given on the motion for review.

(d) What may be appealed during new appeal period If a new appeal period is created under Section 79a-2 (c), the new appeal period may be used for appealing the original judgment or decision and/ or for appealing any order that gave rise to the new appeal period. Such period may also be used for amending an existing appeal pursuant to Section 61-9 to challenge the ruling that gave rise to the new appeal period. Rulings on applications for waiver of fees, costs and security or motions for appointment of appellate counsel may not be appealed during the new appeal period but shall be challenged solely by motion for review in accordance with Section 66-6.

(e) Limitation of time to appeal Unless a new appeal period is created pursuant to Section 79a-2 (c), the time to file a child protection appeal shall not be extended past forty days (the original twenty days plus one twenty day extension for appellate review pursuant to Section 79a-3) from the date of issuance of notice of the rendition of the judgment or decision, except in the case of an appeal in a termination of parental rights proceeding, for which the time for filing an appeal shall not be extended beyond sixty days (the original twenty days plus one forty day extension) from the date of issuance of notice of the rendition of the judgment or decision. Any party seeking to extend the time to file a child protection appeal past the limited appeal periods in this subsection shall seek permission to file a late appeal from the Appellate Court pursuant to Section 60-2 (5). Any motion for permission to file a late appeal in a child protection matter shall state the current status of any motion or application pending in the Superior Court and shall include an appendix with: (1) the decision or order of the Superior Court sought to be appealed and (2) a list of all parties to the case in the Superior Court with the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and, if applicable, the juris numbers of their counsel.

Committee Notes

amended April 30, 2014, to take effect Aug. 1, 2014; amended Sept. 16, 2015, to take effect Jan. 1, 2016; amended July 19, 2017, to take effect Oct. 8, 2017; amended July 23, 2020, to take effect Aug. 4, 2020.)