Any party aggrieved may appeal in the cases prescribed in this title. A party appealing is known as an appellant, and an adverse party as a respondent.
§ 902.Parties
Title 13. Appeals In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Appeals in General · Enacted 1968 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 902 opens Title 13 by giving any aggrieved party the right to appeal in the cases this title prescribes, and it establishes the terminology used throughout appellate practice: the party appealing is the appellant, and the adverse party is the respondent.
Full Text of § 902
Plain-English Summary
This short section does two things that shape everything else in Title 13. First, it limits who can appeal: only a party aggrieved by the ruling below. A party who got everything asked for, or who wasn't a party to the case at all, generally has no standing to appeal even if that party disagrees with the reasoning behind a favorable outcome.
Second, it sets the vocabulary the rest of the title relies on. The party who files the appeal is the appellant; the party on the other side is the respondent. Those labels stay fixed for the duration of the appeal regardless of which side originally sued or was sued in the trial court.
Section 902 doesn't say which judgments or orders can be appealed — that's the job of §§ 904.1 through 904.5. This section only answers who may appeal once a case falls within one of those categories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the right to appeal under California law?
Any party aggrieved by the judgment or order, in the cases Title 13 makes appealable.
What does it mean to be a "party aggrieved"?
Generally, a party whose rights or interests are injured by the ruling — a party who received everything requested typically isn't aggrieved and can't appeal.
What's the difference between an appellant and a respondent?
The appellant is the party who files the appeal; the respondent is the adverse party on the other side of it.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1968, Ch. 385.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: who can appeal california civil caseparty aggrieved appeal californiaappellant respondent definition california