Online Attorney

Online Attorney

Personal-Injury-Law

Personal-Injury-Law





Online Attorney







tisfied with the appellant’s statement: (1) the jurisdictional statement; (2) the statement of the issues; (3) the statement of the case; (4) the statement of the facts; and (5) the statement of the standard of review. (c) Reply Brief. The appellant may file a brief in reply to the appellee’s brief. An appellee who has crossappealed may file a brief in reply to the appellant’s response to the issues presented by the cross-appeal. Unless the court permits, no further briefs may be filed. A reply brief must contain a table of contents, with page references, and a table of authorities — cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes, and other authorities — with references to the pages of the reply brief where they are cited. (d) References to Parties. In briefs and at oral argument, counsel should minimize use of the terms “appellant” and “appellee.” To make briefs clear, counsel should use the parties’ actual names or the designations used in the lower court or agency proceeding, or such descriptive terms as “the employee,” “the injured person,” “the taxpayer,” “the ship,” “the stevedore.” (e) References to the Record. References to the parts of the record contained in the appendix filed with the appellant’s brief must be to the pages of the appendix. If the appendix is prepared after the briefs are filed, a party referring to the record must follow one of the methods detailed in Rule 30(c). If the original record is used under Rule 30(f) and is not consecutively paginated, or if the brief refers to an unreproduced part of the record, any reference must be to the page of the original document. For example: ? Answer p. 7; ? Motion for Judgment p. 2; ? Transcript p. 231. Only clear abbreviations may be used. A party referring to evidence whose admissibility is in controversy must cite the pages of the appendix or of the transcript at which the evidence was identified, offered, and received or rejected. 28 51 Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Federal Circuit Rule Rule 28 (f) Reproduction of Statutes, Rules, Regulations, etc. If the court’s determination of the issues presented requires the study of statutes, rules, regulations, etc., the relevant parts must be set out in the brief or in an addendum at the end, or may be supplied to the court in pamphlet form. (g) [Reserved] (h) Briefs in a Case Involving a Cross-Appeal. If a crossappeal is filed, the party who files a notice of appeal first is the appellant for the purposes of this rule and Rules 30, 31, and 34. If notices are filed on the same day, the plaintiff in the proceeding below is the appellant. These designations may be modified by agreement of the parties or by court order. With respect to appellee’s crossappeal and response to appellant’s brief, appellee’s brief must conform to the requirements of Rule 28(a)(1)- (11). But an appellee who is satisfied with appellant’s statement need not include a statement of the case or of the facts. (i) Briefs in a Case Involving Multiple Appellants or Appellees. In a case involving more than one appellant or appellee, including consolidated cases, any number of appellants or appellees may join in a brief, and any party may adopt by reference a part of another’s brief. Parties may also join in reply briefs. (j) Citation of Supplemental Authorities. If pertinent and significant authorities come to a party’s attention after the party’s brief has been filed — or after oral argument but before decision — a party may promptly advise the circuit clerk by letter, with a copy to all other parties, setting forth the citations. The letter must state the reasons for the supplemental citations, referring either to the page of the brief or to a point argued orally. The body of the letter must not exceed 350 words. Any response must be made promptly and must be similarly limited. (e) Citations. Opinions of this court and its predecessors should be cited as found in the Federal Reporter and, if reasonably available, the United States Patents Quarterly. Parallel citations to any other reporters are discouraged. Examples of acceptable citations are: Guotos v. United States, 552 F.2d 992 (Ct. Cl. 1976). In re Sponnable, 405 F.2d 578 (CCPA 1969). South Corporation v. United States, 690 F.2d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1982)(en banc). Doe v. Roe, No. 12-345, slip op. (Fed. Cir. Oct. 1, 1982). (f) Reference to Appendix. Reference in the brief to pages of the joint appendix and, if permitted, of a supplemental appendix must be as short as possible consistent with clarity, e.g., A206 or SA17. (g) Briefs in a Case Involving a Cross Appeal. If a cross appeal is filed, the party who is the appellant under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(h) is the appellant for purposes of these Federal Circuit Rules. (h) Informal Brief; Appellee’s Brief. A pro se party may file an informal brief on the form prescribed by the court. When the appellant or petitioner files an informal brief, the appellee or respondent may elect to file an informal brief. An informal brief filed by an appellee or respondent must contain a statement of the case but otherwise follow the format prescribed for the pro se party. (i) Briefs in a Transferred Case. When an appeal is transferred to this court by another court of appeals after briefs have been filed, the parties may stipulate to proceed on those briefs instead of filing briefs prescribed by these rules. The stipulation must be filed within 14 days of docketing, and the number of copies of briefs required by Federal Circuit Rule 31(b) must accompany the stipulation. The court may order supplemental briefs. (j) Citation of Supplemental Authorities. An original and 6 copies of a citation of supplemental authorities must be filed. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Federal Circuit Rule 52 Rule Practice Notes Informal Brief. The informal brief procedure is explained in the Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants. Multiple Parties. When there are multiple parties represented by the same counsel, only one brief can be filed. Describing the General Nature of Confidential Material Deleted from the Nonconfidential Brief. The following example is acceptable: CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL OMITTED The material omitted on page 42 describes the circumstances of an alleged lost sale; the material omitted in the first line of page 43 indicates the dollar amount of an alleged revenue loss; the material omitted on page 44 indicates the quantity of the party’s inventory and its market share; the material omitted in the text on page 45 describes the distributor’s experiences concerning the inventories and order lead times; and the material omitted in the footnote on page 45 describes non-price factors affecting customers’ preferences between competing methods. Justification for Claim of Confidentiality. Unnecessarily designating material in the briefs and appendix as confidential may hinder the court’s preparation and issuance of opinions. Counsel must be prepared to justify at oral argument any claim of confidentiality. Cross-Appeals. A party may file a cross-appeal only when it seeks to modify or overturn the judgment of a trial tribunal. Although a party may present additional arguments in support of the judgment as an appellee, counsel are cautioned against improperly designating an appeal as a cross-apeal when they merely present arguments in support of the judgment. See Bailey v. Dart Container Corp., 292 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2002). Further, counsel are cautioned, in cases involving a proper cross-appeal, to limit the fourth brief to the issues presented by the cross-appeal. In all cases, counsel should be prepared to defend the filing of a cross-appeal and the propriety of arguments presented in the fourth brief at oral argument. Rule 29. Brief of an Amicus Curiae (a) When Permitted. The United States or its officer or agency, or a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia may file an amicus-curiae brief without the consent of the parties or leave of court. Any other amicus curiae may file a brief only by leave of court or if the brief states that all parties have consented to its filing. (b) Motion for Leave to File. The motion must be accompanied by the proposed brief and state: (1) the movant’s interest; and (2) the reason why an amicus brief is desirable and why the matters asserted are relevant to the disposition of the case. (c) Contents and Form. An amicus brief must comply with Rule 32. In addition to the requirements of Rule 32, the cover must identify the party or parties supported and indicate whether the brief supports affirmance or reversal. If an amicus curiae is a corporation, the brief must include a disclosure statement like that required of parties by Rule 26.1. An amicus brief need not comply with Rule 28, but must include the following: (1) a table of contents, with page references; (2) a table of authorities — cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes and other authorities — with references to the pages of the brief where they are cited; Rule 29. Brief of an Amicus Curiae (a) Content; Form. In addition to the contents required by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29, the brief of an amicus curiae must include a certificate of interest (see Federal Circuit Rule 47.4) in front of the table of contents. (b) List of Amicus Curiae. The clerk will maintain a list of bar associations and other organizations to be invited to file amicus curiae briefs when the court directs. Bar associations and other organizations will be placed on the list if they request. The request must be renewed annually not later than October 1. 29 53 Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Federal Circuit Rule Rule (3) a concise statement of the identity of the amicus curiae, its interest in the case, and the source of its authority to file; (4) an argument, which may be preceded by a summary and which need not include a statement of the applicable standard of review; and (5) a certificate of compliance, if required by Rule 32(a)(7). (d) Length. Except by the court’s permission, an amicus brief may be no more than one-half the maximum length authorized by these rules for a party’s principal brief. If the court grants a party permission to file a longer brief, that extension does not affect the length of an amicus brief. (e) Time for Filing. An amicus curiae must file its brief, accompanied by a motion for filing when necessary, no later than 7 days after the principal brief of the party being supported is filed. An amicus curiae that does not support either party must file its brief no later than 7 days after the appellant’s or petitioner’s principal brief is filed. A court may grant leave for later filing, specifying the time within which an opposing party may answer. (f) Reply Brief. Except by the court’s permission, an amicus curiae may not file a reply brief. (g) Oral Argument. An amicus curiae may participate in oral argument only with the court’s permission. Rule 30. Appendix to the Briefs (a) Appellant’s Responsibility. (1) Contents of the Appendix. The appellant must prepare and file an appendix to the briefs containing: (A) the relevant docket entries in the proceeding below; (B) the relevant portions of the pleadings, charge, findings, or opinion; (C) the judgment, order, or decision in question; and (D) other parts of the record to which the parties wish to direct the court’s attention. (2) Excluded Material. Memoranda of law in the district court should not be included in the appendix Rule 30. Appendix to the Briefs (a) Purpose; Content of Appendix; Time for Filing; Number of Copies; Cover; Service. (1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to limit the size of the appendix of documentary materials that is printed and filed with the court. The rule also authorizes a supplementary video recording media appendix under some circumstances. (2) Contents; Indiscriminate Referencing to Blocks of the Record Prohibited. (A) In addition to the matters required by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 30(a)(1)(A),(B), and (C), the appendix must include: (i) the entire docket sheet from the proceedings below; 30 Practice Note An amicus curiae must file an entry of appearance and a certificate of interest, if applicable See Federal Circuit Rules 47.3, 47.4, and Forms 8 and 9. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Federal Circuit Rule 54 Rule unless they have independent relevance. Parts of the record may be relied on by the court or the parties even though not included in the appendix. (3) Time to File; Number of Copies. Unless filing is deferred under Rule 30(c), the appellant must file 10 copies of the appendix with the brief and must serve one copy on counsel for each party separately represented. An unrepresented party proceeding in forma pauperis must file 4 legible copies with the clerk, and one copy must be served on counsel for each separately represented party. The court may by local rule or by order in a particular case require the filing or service of a different number. (b) All Parties’ Responsibilities. (1) Determining the Contents of the Appendix. The parties are encouraged to agree on the contents of the appendix. In the absence of an agreement, the appellant must, within 10 days after the record is filed, serve on the appellee a designation of the parts of the record the appellant intends to include in the appendix and a statement of the issues the appellant intends to present for review. The appellee may, within 10 days after receiving the designation, serve on the appellant a designation of additional parts to which it wishes to direct the court’s attention. The appellant must include the designated parts in the appendix. The parties must not engage in unnecessary designation of parts of the record, because the entire record is available to the court. This paragraph applies also to a cross-appellant and a cross-appellee. (2) Costs of Appendix. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the appellant must pay the cost of the appendix. If the appellant considers parts of the record designated by the appellee to be unnecessary, the appellant may advise the appellee, who must then advance the cost of including those parts. The cost of the appendix is a taxable cost. But if any party causes unnecessary parts of the record to be included in the appendix, the court may impose the cost of those parts on that party. Each circuit must, by local rule, provide for sanctions against attorneys who unreasonably and vexatiously increase litigation costs by including unnecessary material in the appendix. (c) Deferred Appendix. (1) Deferral Until After Briefs Are Filed. The court may provide by rule for classes of cases or by order in a particular case that preparation of the appendix may be deferred until after the briefs have been filed and that the appendix may be filed 21 days (ii) in an appeal from a jury case, the judge’s charge, the jury’s verdict, and the jury’s responses to interrogatories; (iii) in an appeal involving a patent, the patent in suit in its entirety. The patent in suit may also be included as an addendum to appellant’s initial brief. Any other patents included in an appendix must be included in their entirety; and (iv) any nonprecedential opinion or order cited in accordance with Federal Circuit Rule 47.6(b). (B) Parts of the record authorized by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 30(a)(1)(D) must not be included in the appendix unless they are actually referenced in the briefs, but the parties are encouraged to include in the appendix sufficient surrounding transcript pages to provide context for a referenced transcript excerpt. (C) Indiscriminate referencing in briefs to blocks of record pages or inclusion of unnecessary pages in the appendix is prohibited. (D) If the appellant considers that parts of the record have been referenced in violation of this rule, the appellant may so advise the appellee and the appellee must advance the costs of including those parts in the appendix. (E) The following must not be included in the appendix except by leave of the court, and any motion for leave must state the number of pages requested to be included: (i) briefs and memoranda in their entirety (except as otherwise provided in Federal Circuit Rule 30); (ii) notices; (iii) subpoenas – except where the enforcement or validity of a subpoena is at issue; (iv) summonses – except in appeals from the Court of International Trade; (v) motions to extend time; (vi) certificates of service; or (vii) jury lists. (F) Nothing in this Federal Circuit Rule 30 prohibits from designation and inclusion in an appendix: (i) an examiner’s answer in an ex parte patent case; 30 55 Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Federal Circuit Rule Rule (ii) a trademark examining attorney’s appeal brief in an ex parte trademark case; or (iii) the briefs and memoranda in their entirety in a case where the only issue is the propriety of summary judgment. (3) Additional Mandatory Appendix Items in Patent and Trademark Office Appeals. In an appeal from the Patent and Trademark Office, unles

Online Attorney




Read this important disclaimer

If you experience unusual problems with this site please email the webmaster.

Copyright: David Matheny, 2006-2008.