Rule 13.250.Request for Trial De Novo

The statute does the heavy lifting. A party who qualifies under ORS 36.425(2) obtains a trial de novo by completing the service, the filing, the payment of the trial or jury fee, and the deposit that statute requires. This rule adds requirements on top of the statute rather than replacing them, so read both.

The first addition is service. Besides filing the written notice of appeal and request for trial de novo with the trial court administrator, the party must serve a copy on the parties and file proof of that service with the trial court administrator. Filing alone does not complete the step.

Consolidated cases get their own timing. When cases have been consolidated for arbitration and a party has appealed from the award in one or more of them, another party who otherwise qualifies under ORS 36.425(2) may serve and file a request for trial de novo, with proof of service on all other parties, within 20 days from the filing of the arbitration award or within two judicial days after service of the initial written request, even though 20 days from the filing of the award have run. The provision keeps a party from being trapped by someone else's late appeal in a companion case.

Backing out has conditions. A party who withdraws or abandons a request must obtain the court's permission, or there must be a stipulation of all parties to the abandonment and its terms, and the court may assess statutory costs against a party who withdraws. One point cuts in the other direction and is worth knowing: no cross appeal is needed to preserve issues raised in a counterclaim, because the trial de novo encompasses all claims raised by any party in the case appealed.