Petition for rehearing
If there is an important mistake in the appellate court's decision in the appeal — like a major misstatement of fact, an error of law, major law or facts that were left out, or an important argument that was not included — you can file a petition for rehearing in the appellate court asking the court to correct its mistake.
Petition for rehearing
The petition for rehearing should focus on the error or errors in the appellate court's decision. The petition must generally be served and filed within 15 days of the filing of the appellate court's decision.
No opposition to the petition can be filed unless the court asks for it.
After filing a petition for rehearing
If the court agrees that there was an important mistake in its decision, it will generally issue a new decision correcting that mistake. The court may ask for additional briefing or oral argument.
If the court does not act on the petition before the decision becomes final, the petition will be deemed denied "by operation of law" (automatically without an order of any kind from the court).
More information about petitions for rehearing
The information given here is very brief. You can find a lot more information and instructions by reading rule 8.268 of the California Rules of Court (for the Court of Appeal) and rule 8.889 (for the appellate division of the superior court).
The Court of Appeal districts have self-help manuals with sample forms and instructions, as well as rules of court you can use to guide you in filing a petition for rehearing.