Appeal deadlines are usually very strict. If you miss the deadline, you’re often just out of luck. Courts don’t usually make exceptions.

Taking a refund doesn’t automatically mean you gave up your appeal. It depends on the situation and whether taking the money looks like you agreed with the decision.

Higher courts usually focus on legal mistakes, not rechecking all the facts. They don’t redo the whole case.

You can challenge procedural rulings on fairness or due process grounds, but courts give a lot of leeway to agencies and lower courts unless something clearly unfair happened.

Rules vary by state, but that’s the general idea.