How Does My Business Request Permission to Appeal a Commercial Case to the Court of Appeal?  

There are various ways you may try to resolve a commercial dispute. Most lawyers will only encourage businesses to commence court litigation as a last resort. However, sometimes, a commercial case is the only or best option for parties in a business dispute. If so, you may wish to take legal advice and appeal the lower court’s decision to the Court of Appeal. This article will explain the processes for requesting permission to go to the Court of Appeal for a commercial case.

What is Permission to Appeal My Commercial Case? 

You can only appeal your commercial case decision if you have permission. The Court of Appeal will only grant permission if there is a compelling reason to appeal or if the appeal appears to have a real chance of success. If you appeal a decision already made on appeal to a lower court, the Court of Appeal makes further considerations before granting permission. They will grant permission if it may give rise to an essential point of principle or practice.  

What is the Process to Request Permission to Appeal My Commercial Case? 

If you decide you want to appeal your commercial case, you will need to request permission to do so. There are two ways to do this:

• ask for permission from the court which heard your case, so the County Court or High Court or;
• ask permission directly to the Court of Appeal Civil Division.

However, you should note that if you go directly to the Court of Appeal to request permission to appeal and they refuse, you cannot then go to the court that made the original decision. However, if you request permission from the court which heard your case and they refuse, you can still go to the Court of Appeal. 

Requesting Permission to Appeal From a Lower Court

If you request permission to appeal from a lower court, you can do this at the commercial case hearing after you receive the decision. Sometimes, the lower court may adjourn the hearing to allow you time to apply for permission to appeal. 

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If the lower court provides permission to appeal, you must go to the Court of Appeal to request persimmon. This requires you to send an N161 form, which is an Appellant’s Notice, to the Court of Appeal Civil Appeals Office. The Appellant Notice is a document that contains the details of your appeal, and you should provide specific documents with this. You should check precisely what the court requires for your particular case, but it will likely include at least:

• ‘grounds for appeal’, which are the reasons you wish to appeal;
• a ‘skeleton argument’, which is the outline of the arguments as to why the decision in the case is incorrect; and 
• a copy of the decision in your case that you are appealing, which must be sealed. 

You must send three copies of the ‘grounds of appeal’ to the Court of Appeal and the same for the form. Extra copies of both also need to be included per respondent. You can do this by:

• e-filing;
• email; or
• post.

If the Court of Appeal gives you permission to appeal your commercial case, you must pay a court fee and send the most relevant documents for your case. This is the ‘core bundle’.  

Requesting Permission to Appeal Directly With the Court of Appeal

One option is to go directly to the Court of Appeal to request permission to appeal your commercial court case. You may do this by choice or because the lower court may refuse permission, meaning you take this route. This requires payment of a court fee and completion of form N161. You need to prepare an appeal pack for the Court of Appeal. This requires you to provide specific documents, as is the case when you apply to the Court of Appeal after receiving permission to appeal from a lower court. 

Therefore, when applying for permission to apply directly with the Court of Appeal, you also need to send a ‘core bundle’ containing the most relevant documents for your case. When you apply directly to the Court of Appeal, you must choose those which allow the Court of Appeal to understand your case within 14 days. 

Key Takeaways

If you lose commercial litigation, you may wish to appeal to the Court of Appeal. However, to appeal your commercial case, you must first request permission. You will only gain this if the court considers your case to pass specific criteria. To request permission to appeal your commercial case, you may ask the lower court who made the initial decision. Sometimes, they may adjourn for you to do this. If they refuse permission to appeal, you may ask the Court of Appeal directly. 

Also, requesting permission through the Court of Appeal, whether directly or after you receive permission from the lower court, requires you to prepare a core bundle. If applying directly to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal rather than the lower court, you must contain the most relevant information for the court to understand the case in 14 days. 

If you need help understanding the process to request permission to go to the Court of Appeal for a commercial case. In the UK, LegalVision’s experienced disputes and litigation solicitors can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.