In the previous chapter, I introduced that labor arbitration has won since the case was filed on March 2, 2021, and then continues to win until the first instance. After the first trial, the company refused to accept the ruling and continued to appeal. However, it took nearly five months to file a case for the second instance. This article reviews the second instance filing process. After reading it, you will understand why it took 5 months.
previously on
Due to the long timeline, friends who have not read the first eight chapters may not understand the previous situation. Here I will review it according to the timeline to give you a general understanding. For details of the previous process, you can go back to the early articles in this series.
- Labor arbitration will be initiated on March 2, 2021
- Submission of evidence on May 21, 2021,
- On May 24, 2021, the Labor Arbitration Dispute Court held a hearing
- The ruling was received on July 12, 2021 and was informed that the company appealed against the ruling.
- On September 24, 2021, I received a notice from the Beijing Chaoyang People's Court to obtain a first-instance summons.
- On October 12, 2021, the first trial will be held in Chaoyang People's Court in Beijing.
- The first-instance judgment was received electronically on December 29, 2021.
- The first-instance judgment was received in writing on January 5, 2022. (Starting from this time, the effective time of the first-instance judgment will be calculated)
- On January 18, 2022, the company wrote an appeal for the second instance and mailed it out. The second trial process begins.
Process of the second trial
It took me nearly five months to file a case for the second instance. During these five months, I asked the judge and clerk many times about the progress, and asked about the details of the process and where the current congestion was. Ask them about their difficulties and difficulties? And why is it stuck here? Therefore, I learned about the relatively detailed process of filing a case in the second instance. Here is a brief introduction:
- If both parties receiving the first-instance judgment are not satisfied with the judgment, they will appeal to the Intermediate People's Court within the specified date (within 15 days)(if the appeal is mailed in writing, as long as the date mailed by the appellant is within 15 days of the first-instance judgment). However, the appeal petition is submitted to the court of first instance, which is "transferred" to the court of second instance.
- After receiving the appeal petition, the court of first instance will serve the appeal petition on the accused (i.e. me.).
- After the court of first instance confirms that the appeal petition was "received by the appellee", it will contact the appellant to pay the prosecution fees. (Payment must be made within 7 working days)
- After the appellant pays the prosecution fee, the court of first instance will begin to copy all relevant materials and files (the materials should include various evidence documents at the first instance stage), and the copies will be electronic.
- After the court of first instance completes the electronic copying of the relevant files and documents, it submits them in the internal system.
- After the review personnel at all levels in the internal system are approved, the electronic version of the file arrives at the case handling clerk node.
- After receiving the approved file, the clerk uploads it to the Intermediate People's Court.
- After receiving the appeal file of the second instance, the Intermediate People's Court began to file a case, arranged the court session time as appropriate, and notified both parties.
After reading this process, what do you think? Before continuing, please think about what steps above can the company take advantage of to delay time?
How did it take me nearly 5 months to file a case for the second instance?
On December 29, 2021, I received electronic delivery of the first-instance judgment, and a few days later (January 5, 2022) received written delivery. The judgment stated,"If you refuse to accept it, you must file a lawsuit with the Third Intermediate People's Court within 15 days of receiving the judgment."
Therefore, the company wrote an appeal on January 18, 2022 and sent it to the Chaoyang People's Court by mail. Pay attention to this time. It is exactly the 13th day after the written delivery, which is two days away from the 15th day. I have to say that this "time delay method" is very proficient.
Because "if it is mailed, the appeal petition will become effective as long as it is mailed within 15 days." Even if the courier walks on the road for a month, it doesn't matter if it exceeds the 15 days after the verdict. Therefore, I don't know when the express delivery will arrive at the Chaoyang People's Court. During February, I called the judge of first instance many times, but could not get through.
At the end of February, I got through to the clerk's phone, and the clerk told me that he had received the company's appeal materials and had not yet been processed. I asked when it could be handled, and the other party replied: About March. I say it will be ready in March, right? She said there was no guarantee. I said: Then I will call you in mid-March to inquire about your progress. Then, throughout March, I had little access to clerks and judges. At the end of March, the judge finally got through to the phone, and the other party said, I will help you urge the clerk. I asked: Why is it so slow? It has been backlog for three months. The judge said: The clerk has a court session every day, so there is no time. Please wait patiently.
Later, I communicated with judges and clerks many times, so I won't list them one by one.
It was mid-April, and my second trial materials were still not transferred to the Third Intermediate People's Court. Then, the epidemic began to break out in Beijing, and the clerk was locked up at home. No one is handling my case.
The time came again on May 10, and the clerk had just been lifted and returned to work. I asked why there was no progress. The clerk said,"Before I blocked the indictment, I checked the system twice, and the company did not pay the prosecution fee, so I couldn't take the next step, and then I was locked up at home the next day." Later, I asked about the payment of the fee. It was probably: During the process, the company had to pay the fee within 7 days of receiving the court notice, but the company still failed to pay the fee on the third day after receiving the notice, which happened to be on the fourth day. The clerk was arrested. The company's "time delay method" has once again been successfully implemented.
Later, I communicated with the court and the clerk many times, and then I experienced "The person responsible for copying the files is outsourced personnel, and they were locked up at home due to the epidemic", "After copying the data, there was a problem with the system. You cannot log in, you cannot upload data, and technical personnel related to the epidemic are not allowed to enter the court repair program".
From the time the company's appeal No. 1.18 was mailed to the outbreak of the epidemic in Beijing in mid-to-late April. During this period, for several months, my judge and clerk were unable to complete the copying and uploading of a file. After the epidemic, it entered a situation where no one cared about it. I was very angry and called the mayor's hotline for help. In short, after many communications, my second-instance case was officially filed in the Third Intermediate People's Court on 2022 - 06 - 08.
The indictment for the second instance is 2022 - 1 - 18, and the formal filing time for the second instance is 2022 - 06 - 08, which takes nearly 5 months!!!
Later on 2022 - 06 - 13, I received a phone call from the Third Intermediate People's Court informing me of the court session time (I completed the online court session on Tuesday, and I will talk about this later).
Summary & Thoughts
The "bumpy" experience of filing a case in the second instance once made me extremely angry. When no one cared about my case, I was not only angry, but also helpless and disappointed. I called the mayor's hotline for help. In contrast, my other arbitration colleague was relatively smooth and fast. My judge said,"We are very busy and will deal with it when we have time." I think being busy is not an excuse. Everyone is busy. At the same time, why can other judges solve problems efficiently in a short time?
So if you are in arbitration, you need to be attentive to your case, because "others" won't be so attentive.
Good news??
Today (July 2, 2022), just as I wrote this memoir and had just finished writing it. I received a phone call from the post saying that there was a court email for me. I rushed downstairs to sign for the email and immediately tore it open. It was indeed the judgment of the second trial. I turned straight to the last page, and the last line read: Dismiss the company's appeal and uphold the original sentence. YES! My second trial continues to win. This is the final trial. Everything is settled. The next step depends on how to get the money.
后续的事情，在下篇幅说。下篇预告：一审线上开庭的过程。