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What is required for a losing party to appeal under the Final Judgment Rule?

  1. The order must be a final judgment

  2. There must be new evidence presented

  3. The trial must have concluded with no errors

  4. The case must have gone to jury deliberation

The correct answer is: The order must be a final judgment

Under the Final Judgment Rule, the requirement for a losing party to appeal is that the order must be a final judgment. A final judgment is one that resolves all the claims between the parties and leaves nothing more for the court to do except execute the judgment. This concept is rooted in the principle that appellate courts should not be burdened with hearing appeals during the course of ongoing litigation, which aims to promote judicial efficiency and conserve resources. For an appeal to be permitted, there must be a complete resolution of all contested issues, and the decision must be definitive. This rule ensures that parties have a final outcome to appeal rather than interrupting the trial process or having piecemeal reviews of various rulings made during the course of litigation. The other options provided do not meet the necessary criteria established by the Final Judgment Rule. New evidence typically cannot be presented in the context of an appeal, as the appellate process focuses on the record established in the trial court. Similarly, a trial does not need to conclude free of errors for an appeal to be considered; an appeal may arise specifically to address those errors. Finally, a case does not need to have gone to jury deliberation for an appeal; judgments entered following bench trials or other non-jury resolutions can