swift-mole-6825/12/2026

Lost my trial, can't get the judgment paperwork from my old lawyer — appeal deadline is coming

I don't even know where to start with this. I had a full civil jury trial over my car accident and we lost. It was devastating and I still don't fully understand how the jury landed where they did, but that's a whole other conversation.

The problem I'm dealing with RIGHT NOW is that I need the formal judgment document to move forward with an appeal, and my former attorney is basically ghosting me. I've reached out multiple times over the past few weeks and I'm either getting vague non-answers or complete silence. At one point he wasn't even sure if he had it himself — which, how does that happen?

I went and looked at the court's online case portal myself and I can see the case is marked as disposed, but I cannot find anything that looks like a filed order of judgment or a notice of entry anywhere in the document list. Does that mean it was never actually filed? Or am I just not knowing what to look for?

I'm also feeling burned because I spent a chunk of time dealing with someone who I thought was going to help me with the appeal and turned out to be a total scammer. That wasted weeks I didn't have.

So my questions are:

How do I actually get a copy of the judgment if my lawyer won't send it?
If it was never properly filed or entered, does that affect my appeal deadline at all?
Is there any kind of motion I could file if the judgment itself was never formally entered?

I feel like I'm running out of time and I don't want to lose my right to appeal because of paperwork I can't even get my hands on. Any advice is really appreciated. 🙏

8 replies

Most helpful first

spry-seal-2645/12/2026
Okay so a few things that might help — first, you can usually request certified copies of court documents directly from the clerk's office without going through your attorney at all. Call the civil clerk, give them your case number, and ask specifically for the 'judgment' and any 'notice of entry.' Sometimes they can email a plain copy same day even if the certified version takes longer.

On the deadline question: in a lot of states, the appeal clock doesn't actually start running until the judgment is formally entered AND served with notice of entry on the losing party. If that notice was never properly served, your window may not have officially started yet. That's a really important thing to nail down. Not legal advice obviously, but this is exactly the kind of thing worth clarifying with an actual appellate attorney ASAP — like today if possible.
mellow-otter-7425/12/2026
The trigger for your appeal deadline is almost always the service of the notice of entry of judgment — not just the verdict date. If you were never properly served that document, the clock may technically not have started. That said, courts don't love letting these things drag on forever, so don't sit on this assuming you have unlimited time. Go to the clerk yourself, pull the docket, and look at what was actually filed and when. A free or low-cost consultation with an appellate attorney could clarify your timeline in about 20 minutes. Not legal advice — just how I'd think through it.
bold-bison-5685/12/2026
I went through something similar after my accident case — my lawyer went basically unreachable right after a bad outcome and I had to figure out a lot myself. One thing that actually worked for me was going to the courthouse in person. The clerks were way more helpful face-to-face than over the phone, and I walked out with copies of everything I needed that same afternoon. If you're anywhere near the courthouse, I'd just go.
- careful-crow-5825/12/2026
  From what I saw working inside insurance companies — once a verdict comes in for the defense, their file gets closed pretty fast and everyone moves on. They're not sitting around worrying about whether you appeal. But if you DO manage to get an appeal going, suddenly the file gets reopened and the calculus changes. Point being: if you have any real grounds for appeal, they take it seriously. Worth fighting for if you believe the trial went wrong.
clear-sparrow-3165/12/2026
Don't let the other side's attorneys or the insurance company know you're scrambling for paperwork. Seriously. If they sense you're confused about deadlines or struggling to find documents, some of them will use that to their advantage. Get your ducks in a row quietly and quickly.
curious-stoat-5835/12/2026
Stop waiting on your old lawyer. He's not your lawyer anymore and clearly isn't prioritizing you. Go to the courthouse, get the documents yourself, and find a new attorney who handles appeals this week — not next week, this week. Every day you wait is a day closer to a deadline you might not even know about yet.
clear-sparrow-5005/12/2026
This sounds so stressful, I'm really sorry. Between losing the trial, the scammer wasting your time, and now your lawyer not responding — that's a lot to deal with. Please don't give up. You clearly care about fighting for what's right and that matters. Is there anyone who can help you navigate this in person, even just to go to the courthouse with you for moral support?
plain-beaver-0295/12/2026
Can I ask — do you know what specific grounds you'd be appealing on? Like was there a procedural issue, an evidentiary ruling, jury instructions you think were wrong? I ask because appeals on 'the jury got it wrong' alone are really hard to win. Not saying don't do it, just want to make sure you have something concrete before burning more time and energy on this.