6. Appealing to a judge
If a client disagrees with a judgment or order made by a district judge, s/he must appeal if s/he wishes to challenge the judge’s decision.
The client can appeal to a circuit judge against any decision made in a county court by a district judge (unless it was made by consent) on the grounds that the decision was:1r52.11(3) CPR •wrong – eg, the district judge wrongly decided a legal issue or wrongly exercised her/his discretion by reaching a decision which no reasonable judge could have made; or
•unjust – ie, there was a serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings.
An appeal must be made on a point of law, not on things like a change in the client’s circumstances. If new evidence becomes available, this may be a ground for appeal if the court considers it would be in the interests of justice to have a rehearing.2r52.11(1)(b) CPR The client must obtain permission to appeal:
•verbally from the district judge at the end of the hearing; or
•if permission was refused or not applied for, from the circuit judge in the notice of appeal.
Permission is only given if:
•the court considers that the appeal has a real prospect of success; or
•there is a compelling reason why the appeal should be heard. The Civil Procedure Rules contain no guidance on when this might apply.
The district judge must give written reasons for granting or refusing the client permission to appeal on Form N460.
The client must appeal:3r52.4 CPR •within the time specified by the district judge when granting permission verbally; or
•within 21 days of the date of the decision being appealed.
An appeal must be made on Form N161 (N164 in small claims cases). A fee of £151 (£129 for small claims) is payable. See here for details about applying for remission. If the claim is on the small claims track, the restrictions on cost orders also apply to appeals.4Akhtar v Boland [2014] EWCA Civ 943 (Adviser 165, abstracts). See also Dammermann v Lanyon Bowdler [2017] EWCA Civ 269 (Adviser 185 abstracts). If the client has possible grounds for appeal, specialist advice and assistance will be required, and usually the client must be referred to a solicitor. Note: An appeal does not automatically operate as a stay of execution of the judgment or order.5r52.16 CPR However, the court does have discretion to grant a stay of execution pending the hearing of the appeal and you should apply for this in the notice of appeal. In coming to a decision on the application, the court is very likely to consider the merits of the appeal.