Rule 24 Suspension of Enforcement of Judgment Pending Appeal in Civil Cases
APPEALS FROM TRIAL
24.1. Suspension of Enforcement
(a) Methods. Unless the law or these rules provide otherwise, a judgment debtor may supersede the judgment by:
(1) filing with the trial court clerk a written agreement with the judgment creditor for suspending enforcement of the judgment;
(2) filing with the trial court clerk a good and sufficient bond;
(3) making a deposit with the trial court clerk in lieu of a bond; or
(4) providing alternate security under Rule 24.2(e) or ordered by the court.
(b) Bonds.
(1) A bond must be:
(A) in the amount required by 24.2;
(B) payable to the judgment creditor;
(C) signed by the judgment debtor or the debtor’s agent;
(D) signed by a sufficient surety or sureties as obligors; and
(E) conditioned as required by (d).
(2) A bond is effective upon filing. On motion of any party, the trial court will review the bond.
(c) Deposit in Lieu of Bond.
(1) Types of Deposits. Instead of filing a surety bond, a party may deposit with the trial court clerk:
(A) cash;
(B) a cashier’s check payable to the clerk, drawn on any federally insured and federally or state- chartered bank or savings-and-loan association; or
(C) with leave of court, a negotiable obligation of the federal government or of any federally insured and federally or state- chartered bank or savings-and-loan association.
(2) Amount of Deposit. The deposit must be in the amount required by 24.2.
(3) Clerk’s Duties; Interest. The clerk must promptly deposit any cash or a cashier’s check in accordance with law. The clerk must hold the deposit until the conditions of liability in (d) are extinguished. The clerk must then release any remaining funds in the deposit to the judgment debtor.
(d) Conditions of Liability. The surety or sureties on a bond, any deposit in lieu of a bond, or any alternate security under Rule 24.2(e) or ordered by court is subject to liability for all damages and costs that may be awarded against the debtor — up to the amount of the bond, deposit, or security — if:
(1) the debtor does not perfect an appeal or the debtor’s appeal is dismissed, and the debtor does not perform the trial court’s judgment;
(2) the debtor does not perform an adverse judgment final on appeal; or
(3) the judgment is for the recovery of an interest in real or personal property, and the debtor does not pay the creditor the value of the property interest’s rent or revenue during the pendency of the appeal.
(e) Orders of Trial Court. The trial court may make any order necessary to adequately protect the judgment creditor against loss or damage that the appeal might cause.
(f) Effect of Supersedeas. Enforcement of a judgment must be suspended if the judgment is superseded. Enforcement begun before the judgment is superseded must cease when the judgment is superseded. If execution has been issued, the clerk will promptly issue a writ of supersedeas. 24.2. Amount of Bond, Deposit, or Security
(a) Type of Judgment.
(1) For Recovery of Money. When the judgment is for money, the amount of the bond, deposit, or security must equal the sum of compensatory damages awarded in the judgment, interest for the estimated duration of the appeal, and costs awarded in the judgment. But the amount must not exceed the lesser of:
(A) 50 percent of the judgment debtor's current net worth; or
(B) 25 million dollars.
(2) For Recovery of Property. When the judgment is for the recovery of an interest in real or personal property, the trial court will determine the type of security that the judgment debtor must post. The amount of that security must be at least:
(A) the value of the property interest's rent or revenue, if the property interest is real; or
(B) the value of the property interest on the date when the court rendered judgment, if the property interest is personal.
(3) Other Judgment. When the judgment is for something other than money or an interest in property, the trial court must set the amount and type of security that the judgment debtor must post. The security must adequately protect the judgment creditor against loss or damage that the appeal might cause. But the trial court may decline to permit the judgment to be superseded if the judgment creditor posts security ordered by the trial court in an amount and type that will secure the judgment debtor against any loss or damage caused by the relief granted the judgment creditor if an appellate court determines, on final disposition, that that relief was improper. When the judgment debtor is the state, a department of this state, or the head of a department of this state, the trial court must permit a judgment to be superseded except in a matter arising from a contested case in an administrative enforcement action.
(4) Conservatorship or Custody. When the judgment involves the conservatorship or custody of a minor or other person under legal disability, enforcement of the judgment will not be suspended, with or without security, unless ordered by the trial court. But upon a proper showing, the appellate court may suspend enforcement of the judgment with or without security.
(5) For a Governmental Entity. When a judgment in favor of a governmental entity in its governmental capacity is one in which the entity has no pecuniary interest, the trial court must determine whether to suspend enforcement, with or without security, taking into account the harm that is likely to result to the judgment debtor if enforcement is not suspended, and the harm that is likely to result to others if enforcement is suspended. The appellate court may review the trial court’s determination and suspend enforcement of the judgment, with or without security, or refuse to suspend the judgment. If security is required, recovery is limited to the governmental entity’s actual damages resulting from suspension of the judgment.
(b) Lesser Amount. The trial court must lower the amount of security required by (a) to an amount that will not cause the judgment debtor substantial economic harm if, after notice to all parties and a hearing, the court finds that posting a bond, deposit, or security in the amount required by (a) is likely to cause the judgment debtor substantial economic harm.
(c) Determination of Net Worth.
(1) Judgment Debtor's Affidavit Required; Contents; Prima Facie Evidence. A judgment debtor who provides a bond, deposit, or security under (a)(1)(A) or (e) in an amount based on the debtor's net worth must simultaneously file with the trial court clerk an affidavit that states the debtor's net worth and states complete, detailed information concerning the debtor's assets and liabilities from which net worth can be ascertained. An affidavit that meets these requirements is prima facie evidence of the debtor's net worth for the purpose of establishing the amount of the bond, deposit, or security required to suspend enforcement of the judgment. A trial court clerk must receive and file a net-worth affidavit tendered for filing by a judgment debtor.
(2) Contest; Discovery. A judgment creditor may file a contest to the debtor's claimed net worth. The contest need not be sworn. The creditor may conduct reasonable discovery concerning the judgment debtor's net worth.
(3) Hearing; Burden of Proof; Findings; Additional Security. The trial court must hear a judgment creditor's contest of the judgment debtor's claimed net worth promptly after any discovery has been completed. The judgment debtor has the burden of proving net worth. The trial court must issue an order that states the debtor's net worth and states with particularity the factual basis for that determination. If the trial court orders additional or other security to supersede the judgment, the enforcement of the judgment will be suspended for twenty days after the trial court's order. If the judgment debtor does not comply with the order within that period, the judgment may be enforced against the judgment debtor.
(d) Injunction. The trial court may enjoin the judgment debtor from dissipating or transferring assets to avoid satisfaction of the judgment, but the trial court may not make any order that interferes with the judgment debtor's use, transfer, conveyance, or dissipation of assets in the normal course of business.
(e) Alternative Security in Certain Cases.
(1) Applicability. Paragraph (e) applies only to a judgment debtor with a net worth of less than $10 million.
(2) Alternative Security; Required Showing. On a showing by the judgment debtor that posting security in the amount required under (a)(1) would require the judgment debtor to substantially liquidate the judgment debtor’s interests in real or personal property necessary to the normal course of the judgment debtor’s business, the trial court must allow the judgment debtor to post alternative security with a value sufficient to secure the judgment.
(3) Earnings on Appeal. During an appeal, the judgment debtor may continue to manage, use, and receive earnings from interests in real or personal property in the normal course of business.
(f) Redetermination. If an appellate court reduces the amount of the judgment used to set the bond, deposit, or security, the judgment debtor is entitled, pending appeal of the judgment to a court of last resort, to a redetermination by the trial court of the amount of the bond, deposit, or security required to suspend enforcement. 24.3. Continuing Trial Court Jurisdiction; Duties of Judgment Debtor
(a) Continuing Jurisdiction. Even after the trial court's plenary power expires, the trial court has continuing jurisdiction to do the following:
(1) order the amount and type of security and decide the sufficiency of sureties; and
(2) if circumstances change, modify the amount or type of security required to continue the suspension of a judgment's execution.
(b) Duties of Judgment Debtor. If, after jurisdiction attaches in an appellate court, the trial court orders or modifies the security or decides the sufficiency of sureties, the judgment debtor must notify the appellate court of the trial court's action. 24.4. Appellate Review
(a) Motions; Review. A party may seek review of the trial court's ruling by motion filed in the court of appeals with jurisdiction or potential jurisdiction over the appeal from the judgment in the case. A party may seek review of the court of appeals' ruling on the motion by petition for writ of mandamus in the Supreme Court. The appellate court may review:
(1) the sufficiency or excessiveness of the amount of security, but when the judgment is for money, the appellate court must not modify the amount of security to exceed the limits imposed by Rule 24.2(a)(1);
(2) the sureties on any bond;
(3) the type of security;
(4) the determination whether to permit suspension of enforcement; and
(5) the trial court's exercise of discretion under Rule 24.3(a).
(b) Grounds of Review. Review may be based both on conditions as they existed at the time the trial court signed an order and on changes in those conditions afterward.
(c) Temporary Orders. The appellate court may issue any temporary orders necessary to preserve the parties’ rights.
(d) Action by Appellate Court. The motion must be heard at the earliest practicable time. The appellate court may require that the amount of a bond, deposit, or other security be increased or decreased, and that another bond, deposit, or security be provided. The appellate court may require other changes in the trial court order. The appellate court may remand to the trial court for entry of findings of fact or for the taking of evidence.
(e) Effect of Ruling. If the appellate court orders additional or other security to supersede the judgment, enforcement will be suspended for 20 days after the appellate court’s order. If the judgment debtor does not comply with the order within that period, the judgment may be enforced. When any additional bond, deposit, or security has been filed, the trial court clerk must notify the appellate court. The posting of additional security will not release the previously posted security or affect any alternative security arrangements that the judgment debtor previously made unless specifically ordered by the appellate court.