The moving parties brought a motion to quash the appellants' appeal on the basis that the notice of appeal was served out of time.
The appellants argued that the 30-day appeal period did not begin until the trial judge released her costs judgment, which occurred months after the jury dismissed the action on the merits.
The Court of Appeal held that a merits judgment and a costs judgment are separate appealable judgments, and the time to appeal the merits judgment runs from its pronouncement, not from the subsequent costs decision.
Although the notice of appeal was served out of time, the Court granted an extension of time to appeal because the appellants had a bona fide intention to appeal, the delay was explained by counsel's mistaken belief regarding the appeal period, there was no prejudice to the moving parties, and the justice of the case warranted the extension.
The motion to quash was dismissed.
