To perfect an appeal from a civil judgment in New York, which steps are required?

• A. Serve the adverse party a notice of appeal
• B. File the notice of appeal in the office where the judgment or order was entered
• C. Both serve and file the notice of appeal
• D. Obtain permission from the trial court before filing

Answer: (C)

Perfecting an appeal in New York requires two actions: you must both serve a copy of the notice of appeal on every adverse party and file the notice of appeal with the clerk of the court where the judgment was entered, all within the applicable time. The notice of appeal starts the process, the service ensures the other side knows about the appeal, and the filing gets the appeal properly docketed with the trial court. The 30-day period to act begins after the adverse party is served with the notice of entry of the judgment, so you must complete both serving and filing within that window. If you do only one of these steps, the appeal is not perfected, even if you do the other step promptly.