H.J.R. 16 Enrolled

RESOLUTION AMENDING RULES OF CIVIL
PROCEDURE - JUDGMENT
2004 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Greg J. Curtis

LONG TITLE
General Description:
This joint resolution amends the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure by providing for a
maximum supersedeas bond amount that may be required of an appellant.
Highlighted Provisions:
This resolution:
. limits the appellate bond amount to $25,000,000; and
. allows a judge to require an appellant to execute a bond in excess of the limit if the
plaintiff, by a preponderance of the evidence, proves that the appellant, outside the
normal course of business, is dissipating assets to avoid the payment of a judgment.
Special Clauses:
This resolution provides an immediate effective date.
Utah Rules of Civil Procedure Affected:
AMENDS:
Rule 62, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure

Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, two-thirds of all members elected to each
of the two houses voting in favor thereof:
As provided in Utah Constitution Article VIII, Section 4, the Legislature may amend
rules of procedure and evidence adopted by the Utah Supreme Court upon a two-thirds vote of
all members of both houses of the Legislature:
Section 1. Rule 62 , Utah Rules of Civil Procedure is amended to read:
Rule 62. Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment.

(a) Stay upon entry of judgment. Execution or other proceedings to enforce a judgment
may issue immediately upon the entry of the judgment, unless the court in its discretion and on
such conditions for the security of the adverse party as are proper, otherwise directs.
(b) Stay on motion for new trial or for judgment. In its discretion and on such conditions
for the security of the adverse party as are proper, the court may stay the execution of, or any
proceedings to enforce, a judgment pending the disposition of a motion for a new trial or to alter
or amend a judgment made pursuant to Rule 59, or of a motion for relief from a judgment or
order made pursuant to Rule 60, or of a motion for judgment in accordance with a motion for a
directed verdict made pursuant to Rule 50, or of a motion for amendment to the findings or for
additional findings made pursuant to Rule 52(b).
(c) Injunction pending appeal. When an appeal is taken, from an interlocutory or final
judgment granting, dissolving, or denying an injunction, the court in its discretion may suspend,
modify, restore, or grant an injunction during the pendency of the appeal upon such conditions as
it considers proper for the security of the rights of the adverse party.
(d) Stay upon appeal. When an appeal is taken, the appellant by giving a supersedeas
bond or other form of security may obtain a stay throughout the course of all appeals or
discretionary reviews, unless such a stay is otherwise prohibited by law or these rules. The bond
or other form of security may be given at or after the time of filing the notice of appeal. The stay
is effective when the supersedeas bond or other form of security is approved by the court. In
cases brought under any legal theory in which the amount or value of the judgment exceeds
$5,000,000, including cases involving individual, aggregated, class-action, or otherwise joined
claims, the amount of the bond required collectively of all appellants may not exceed
$25,000,000, and the bond or other form of security required of any single appellant may not
exceed the lesser of (1) $5,000,000 plus 10% of the judgment award, or (2) $25,000,000,
regardless of the amount of the judgment. The court may require an appellant to execute a bond
in an amount up to the total amount of the judgment if an appellant whose bond or other form of
security has been limited is dissipating assets outside the ordinary course of business to avoid
payment of a judgment.

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(e) Stay in favor of the state, or agency thereof. When an appeal is taken by the United
States, the state of Utah, or an officer or agency of either, or by direction of any department of
either, and the operation or enforcement of the judgment is stayed, no bond, obligation, or other
security shall be required from the appellant.
(f) Stay in quo warranto proceedings. Where the defendant is adjudged guilty of
usurping, intruding into or unlawfully holding public office, civil or military, within this state, the
execution of the judgment shall not be stayed on an appeal.
(g) Power of appellate court not limited. The provisions in this rule do not limit any
power of an appellate court or of a judge or justice thereof to stay proceedings or to suspend,
modify, restore, or grant an injunction, or extraordinary relief or to make any order appropriate to
preserve the status quo or the effectiveness of the judgment subsequently to be entered.
(h) Stay of judgment upon multiple claims. When a court has ordered a final judgment on
some but not all of the claims presented in the action under the conditions stated in Rule 54(b),
the court may stay enforcement of that judgment until the entering of a subsequent judgment or
judgments and may prescribe such conditions as are necessary to secure the benefit thereof to the
party in whose favor the judgment is entered.
(i) Form of supersedeas bond; deposit in lieu of bond; waiver of bond; jurisdiction over
sureties to be set forth in undertaking.
(i) (1) A supersedeas bond given under Subdivision (d) may be either a commercial bond
having a surety authorized to transact insurance business under Title 31A, or a personal bond
having one or more sureties who are residents of Utah having a collective net worth of at least
twice the amount of the bond, exclusive of property exempt from execution. Sureties on personal
bonds shall make and file an affidavit setting forth in reasonable detail the assets and liabilities of
the surety.
(i) (2) Upon motion and good cause shown, the court may permit a deposit of money in
court or other security to be given in lieu of giving a supersedeas bond under Subdivision (d).
(i) (3) The parties may by written stipulation waive the requirement of giving a
supersedeas bond under Subdivision (d) or agree to an alternate form of security.

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(i) (4) A supersedeas bond given pursuant to Subdivision (d) shall provide that each
surety submits to the jurisdiction of the court and irrevocably appoints the clerk of the court as
the surety's agent upon whom any papers affecting the surety's liability on the bond may be
served, and that the surety's liability may be enforced on motion and upon such notice as the court
may require without the necessity of an independent action.
(j) Objecting to sufficiency or amount of security. Any party whose judgment is stayed or
sought to be stayed pursuant to Subdivision (d) may object to the sufficiency of the sureties on
the supersedeas bond or the amount thereof, or to the sufficiency or amount of other security
given to stay the judgment by filing and giving notice of such objection. The party so objecting
shall be entitled to a hearing thereon upon five days notice or such shorter time as the court may
order. The burden of justifying the sufficiency of the sureties or other security and the amount of
the bond or other security, shall be borne by the party seeking the stay. The fact that a
supersedeas bond, its surety or other security is generally permitted under this rule shall not be
conclusive as to its sufficiency or amount.
Section 2. Effective date.
This resolution takes effect upon approval by a constitutional two-thirds vote of all
members elected to each house.

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