Partial verdict – what is it and can it be appealed (and at what stage)?

What is a partial verdict?

A partial verdict is verdict, that is, a decision that ends the litigation, But not fully. Such a judgment may relate to some of the litigants or to some of the disputes. For example: A plaintiff claims that Defendant A owes him 100,000 shekels and Defendant B owes him 50,000 shekels. In the context of litigation, a judgment may be rendered that concerns only Defendant A or only Defendant B, or only with respect to the amount of debt that is relevant to Defendant A or only with respect to the amount of debt that is relevant to Defendant B.

i.e, At the time a partial judgment was rendered, the proceedings were not concluded with respect to all the litigants or with respect to all the grounds, but only with respect to some of them., and the management of the lawsuit continues with respect to the other litigants.

The court may issue a partial judgment on its own initiative or at the request of the parties. The reasons for this can be varied, but the main ones are:

1. Simplifying the procedure – Deciding on some of the issues may simplify and facilitate the management of the procedure.
2. Saving time – Deciding on some issues may save valuable judicial time, as well as the time of the parties. Saving time = saving money, and this also has great significance for the parties.

There is another case in which a judgment can be requested that can be considered a partial judgment, and that is when a judgment is given Judgment in the absence of a defense or Judgment in default of appearance, and this is when there are additional litigants. That is, in these situations, the lawsuit against that specific litigant will come to an end, but the lawsuit will continue against the other litigant parties.

At what stage can a partial judgment be obtained?

In practice, a partial judgment can be obtained at almost any stage of the proceedings. For example: in a situation where there are multiple defendants and one of the defendants has not filed Defense At that time, it will be possible to request Judgment in the absence of a defense (Even before the parties appear before a judge in the Before the first trial) With respect to that defendant, this will be a final judgment, but with respect to the entire lawsuit, it is a partial judgment because the lawsuit continues with respect to the other defendants.

However, you will not encounter a situation in which the judge hearing the claim will issue a partial ruling solely on the basis of what is stated in the Claim, the defense, Reply letter, without the parties actually appearing before him.

The judge's authority to issue a partial or final judgment with respect to all parties during the first pre-trial stage is set forth in Regulation 63(b) of the Civil Procedure Regulations:

(b) At the pre-trial hearing, the court shall order the methods of hearing the claim with the aim of streamlining, simplifying and expediting it; in particular, it may, on its own initiative or at the request of a party –

(1) To order the stages of the hearing of the claim and the dates for their holding;

(5) To divide the discussion and give any deliberative instructions regarding the manner of resolving the disputes;

(16) To strike out the statement of claim or dismiss the claim or give judgment if it finds that the statement of defence does not disclose any defence at all;

(17) To offer the parties a compromise proposal or to offer them a ruling through compromise or an alternative mechanism for resolving the dispute.

How do you request a partial judgment?

A partial judgment can be requested in two ways:

1. Orally – during the hearing before the judge.
2. By submitting a written request.

In both cases, you will need to detail your reasons for why you believe you deserve a partial judgment and why during the proceedings rather than at the end. If you decide to submit a written request, you will usually need to attach an affidavit to the request.

Can a partial verdict be appealed?

ניתן להגיש ערעור על פסק דין חלקי אך לעיתים ישנו קושי לזהות שמדובר בפסק דין שכזה, משום שהשופט אינו חייב לקרוא לו כך, אלא הוא יכול לקרוא לו גם "החלטה".

In order to examine whether it is possible File an appeal Or no, it's not enough to look at The title of the decision Because the decision is examined according to a substantive test and not a formal test, that is, does the decision lead to the end of the litigation? Was the relief accepted or rejected?

בעניין זה בית המשפט העליון קבע כך (ע"א 463/13 מדינת ישראל נ' פרמה גורי בע"מ):

ככלל, אופן הערעור על החלטה שיפוטית נקבע על-פי מבחן הסופיות: אם מדובר ב"פסק-דין", קרי החלטה המביאה לכדי גמר את העניין התלוי ועומד בבית המשפט או חלק ממנו, אזי קיימת זכות ערעור, ואילו אם מדובר ב"החלטה אחרת" אזי הערעור טעון רשות (ראו לאחרונה בש"א 6428/12 פלוני נ' פלוני [פורסם בנבו] (4.12.2012)). מבחן עזר המסייע באיתורה של "סופיות" הוא מבחן הסעד: אם ניתן או נשלל סעד בהחלטתו של בית המשפט – הרי זה פסק-דין; ואם לאו – בהחלטה אחרת עסקינן. עמדה על כך כבוד השופטת ד' דורנר בע"א 6058/93 מנדלבליט נ' מנדלבליט, פ"ד נא(4) 354 (1997), ודבריה מסכמים את התורה כולה:

The formal finality test is easy to apply when it comes to a ruling that follows the conclusion of the judicial process. The difficulty arises in situations where the court decides on various claims of the parties already during the hearing. In such situations, where the hearing continues after the decision has been rendered before that court, an auxiliary test is required, by means of which it will be possible to identify 'finality' arising from the outcome of the decision in the procedural aspect, as distinct from its content, i.e. its outcome in the substantive aspect. The appropriate test for identifying such 'finality' is the remedy test, which constitutes a procedural landmark that allows it to be determined that a defined area of ​​the procedure has ended.

In our case law, as well as in comparative law, the finality of the decision during the hearing is determined by the question of whether, in any part of the litigation, the plaintiff received the final relief he requested or part of it, or was denied it. This is because the court ruled in the first stage on one or more of the grounds claimed in that claim and awarded the plaintiff one or more of the remedies he claimed for that cause or rejected the granting of the requested relief. The same applies when the court decides on the claim of one or more of the plaintiffs, and awards them the relief requested by them, or rejects the granting of the requested relief. The same applies when a decision is given dismissing part of the claim or the claim against one or more of the defendants.

This is how a ruling differs^–The partial law is a decision in disputes between the parties, the decision in which constitutes no more than a basis for determining the remedy. (Ibid., p. 363).

בענייננו, החלטת בית המשפט קמא מיום 13.12.2011 הוכתרה "פסק דין חלקי והחלטה". בית המשפט הבחין, אפוא, בין שני חלקים של ההחלטה: חלק אחד המהווה לשיטתו "פסק-דין חלקי", וחלק אחר המהווה החלטה, קרי: "החלטה אחרת". על פניו ניתן להניח כי הכוונה הייתה שאותו חלק של ההחלטה הדוחה מקצת מן התביעה (מחמת התיישנות) מהווה פסק-דין (חלקי), שהרי ברור כי בכך נשלל סעד, ואילו החלק האחֵר, שלגביו הדיון טרם הסתיים, מהווה החלטה אחרת.

True, the title of a judicial decision is not decisive in the matter of classifying the decision for appeal purposes. (ראו ע"א 277/81 גרינהאוז נ' גרינהאוז, פ"ד לו(3) 197, 202 (1982)). אולם בענייננו, סבורני כי עמדת המדינה נתמכת לא רק בכותרת ההחלטה כי אם גם בבחינה עניינית שלה.

In proceedings conducted pursuant to Civil Procedure Regulations The deadline for filing an appeal against a partial judgment is within 60 days from the date the decision was made (see Rule 137(a)).

In conclusion

A partial judgment is a judgment for all intents and purposes, but it differs from a final judgment because it only relates to a specific issue or issues, or only to some of the defendants.

The judge may give a partial verdict at any stage, but in most cases this will not happen at least before the first pre-trial.

A partial judgment does not have to be defined as such. The type of decision is not examined by the title but by the substance of the decision – does the decision end the litigation or not? Was the requested relief obtained or denied?

A partial judgment can be appealed, and in legal proceedings conducted according to the Civil Procedure Regulations, the appeal must be filed within 60 days of the date the decision was made.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Partial Judgment