§ 908.Judgment Or Order Reversed Or Modified

Reversing a judgment doesn't automatically undo what already happened while that judgment was being enforced — a levy might already have occurred, property might already have changed hands. Section 908 gives the reviewing court authority to unwind those consequences. When a judgment or order is reversed or modified, the reviewing court may direct that the parties be returned, so far as possible, to the positions they occupied before the judgment or order was enforced or executed on.

That restoration can take two forms. The reviewing court may order restitution, on reasonable terms and conditions, of property and rights the erroneous judgment or order cost a party — but only so far as that restitution is consistent with the rights of third parties, who may have relied in good faith on the now-reversed judgment. Where property or rights can't be restored directly, the court may instead direct entry of a money judgment sufficient to compensate for what wasn't restored.

Rather than handling every detail itself, the reviewing court has a choice: it may take evidence and make findings on these restitution questions directly, or it may refer the matter by order to the trial court for determination — often the more practical route, since the trial court is better positioned to take evidence on what happened during enforcement.