Rule 20 Judgments

When a case ends in the Magistrate Division, the court puts the outcome into an official document called a judgment. This rule explains the different ways that judgment can happen.

If a plaintiff decides to drop the case and there is nothing else left to resolve, the court can issue a judgment of dismissal to formally close it out. If both sides reach an agreement on their own, either in writing or by telling the judge during a hearing, the court will issue a judgment based on that agreement. This is called a judgment of stipulation. The court will only include an award for costs in this judgment if the parties specifically agreed to that as part of their deal.

If the case goes through a full decision by the magistrate, the court will issue a judgment matching that decision. This happens automatically unless someone appeals to the Regular Division within 60 days after the decision is entered.

Once the Magistrate Division issues a judgment, that judgment itself cannot be appealed. If someone disagrees with the outcome, their only option is to appeal the earlier decision to the Regular Division before the judgment is entered, not after.