In the previous sections, I introduced how I filed for labor arbitration on March 2, 2021, and then went through the processes of submitting evidence, attending the arbitration hearing, receiving the award, and receiving the court summons. This section covers what happened after the first instance, specifically regarding the receipt of the judgment.
Recap
Since the timeline is quite long, friends who haven't read the previous seven articles may not be clear about the process. Here I will review it chronologically to give you a general understanding. For details of the earlier process, please refer back to the earlier articles in this series.
- March 2, 2021: Filed for labor arbitration
- May 21, 2021: Submitted evidence
- May 24, 2021: Labor Arbitration Court held a hearing
- July 12, 2021: Received the arbitration award and learned that the company appealed against it
- September 24, 2021: Received notification from Beijing Chaoyang People's Court to collect the first-instance summons
- October 12, 2021: First-instance trial held at Beijing Chaoyang People's Court
- Then began waiting for the first-instance result, which is the subject of this section.
Receiving the First-Instance Judgment
After the first-instance trial, I started a long wait. It wasn't until the morning of December 29, 2021, that I received the electronic service of the judgment, with the email roughly as follows:
It took a little over three months, which was not a short time. During this period, although I wasn't anxious, the lack of any progress updates made me unsure whether the case was being processed or not. I even worried whether the staff might have forgotten about my case in some corner. Since the judge had contacted me before the first-instance trial, I happened to remember the judge's phone number, so I tried calling the judge a few times. However, after dozens of calls, nobody answered.
Later, I called the 12368 hotline to ask if I could check the case progress. The 12368 staff member said, "I can leave a message for the judge. After leaving a message, the judge will find time to reply to you. Please tell me what you want to say." So I left my question.
I don't know how long it took, but I received a call from the judge's assistant. She said, "The judge saw your message, but she didn't have time to reply, so she asked me to get back to you. Your case should have a result around December, though we can't guarantee the exact date. But roughly it should come out in December." I said, "Okay."
My Feelings After Winning the First Instance
Every day on my way to work, I would check my email. The email client on my phone is the default Apple one, and I bound my QQ email to it. All my subscription emails are eventually forwarded to this mailbox. Almost every morning on the subway, I would check my email.
At 10:40 AM on December 29, 2021, my mailbox received the judgment notification email from Beijing Chaoyang People's Court. This email was sent later than my usual daily check, so I didn't see it that day. Because by then I was already at the company, probably in a morning meeting.
The next day, December 30, 2021, in the subway, I saw this email. I was so excited at that moment. I quickly opened it, read through its contents with great concentration and dedication, and clicked the attachment link in the email to view the judgment document. (Because I noticed some links in the email had a 15-day access period. As a technical person, I was cautious—what if the program had a bug and the link could only be accessed once? That would be troublesome. So I downloaded the file to my phone and conveniently uploaded it to cloud storage.)
The judgment showed that I had won completely. The court dismissed the company's lawsuit.
What Followed
I felt happy and excited for only a few seconds after receiving the first-instance victory judgment. Then I returned to calm. Because it's been nearly a year since this whole thing started. During this time, I saw and experienced some things, and I have developed a completely new and mature understanding of this matter. I can wait calmly and peacefully, and continue participating in this process. If nothing unexpected happens, the company's legal team is probably already preparing materials for the second-instance appeal. What awaits me is continuing to respond and go through the second instance.
Also, 2021 is about to end. I won't wish everyone "all the best" or anything like that. Instead, I wish you this: no matter the problem you encounter, big or small, may you make your own choice, handle it well, learn lessons and experience, and grow.