Divorce judges make dozens to hundreds of decisions every day. Sometimes, those decisions are in error. A judge’s wrong decision can be appealed to a higher court. Typically, this appeals process happens at the end of a trial because, generally only final orders can be appealed. “Appeals from final judgments of a Circuit Court are a matter of right to the Appellate Court in the Judicial District in which the Circuit Court is located” Ill. Const. Art. VI. Sec. 6 “Every final judgment of a circuit court in a civil case is appealable as of right.” Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 301 Divorces, typically, only have one final order: the Judgment For Dissolution of Marriage. “A petition for dissolution advances a single claim; that is, a request for an order dissolving the parties’ marriage. The numerous other issues involved, such as custody, property disposition, and support are merely questions which are ancillary to the cause of action. They do not represent separate, unrelated claims; rather, they are separate issues relating to the same claim…where a dissolution of marriage is granted, a determination as to which party receives custody will necessarily affect how much, if any, support and maintenance are paid. Practically speaking, then, until all of the ancillary issues are resolved, the petition for dissolution is not fully adjudicated.” In re Marriage of Leopando, 449 NE 2d 137 – Ill: Supreme Court 1983 Sometimes, a judge makes a decision at the beginning of a divorce case that, effectively, ruins the rest of the case even though the case is not yet over. This is especially prevalent with decisions made regarding discovery. Discovery is “compulsory disclosure, at a party’s request, of information that relates to the ligitation.” Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) If you cannot get discovery from the opposing side or third parties, you are going to have a very hard time proving income, assets, and behavior that could affect parenting time. A court’s denial of a motion to compel discovery could mean, substantively, the end of your divorce case…and there’s not much you can do about it. “Preliminary orders in a pending case are not appealable because they are reviewable on appeal from the final order.” People ex rel. Scott v. Silverstein, 429 NE 2d 483 – Ill: Supreme Court 1981 Appealing Denied Discovery Requests Do not fret! There is still hope when your discovery request is denied despite the general bar against appealing non-final […]
