Opinion
DA 21-0505
01-07-2022
IN RE THE ADOPTION OF: L.E.R.G, A Minor Child. v. JUSTIN A. SHIELDS, Father, Respondent and Appellant, NATHAN SCOTT KUFNER, Petitioner and Appellee, and TINA WOLFORD, Intervener and Appellant.
ORDER
This Court reviews briefs to ensure compliance with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. After reviewing the Opening Brief of Appellants filed on January 7, 2022, this Court has determined that the brief does not comply with the Rules and must be resubmitted.
"Papers presented for filing shall contain a certificate of service in the form of a statement of the date and manner of service and of the names and addresses of the persons served, certified by the person who made service." M R. App. P. 10(4). The Appellants' brief does not contain a certificate of service.
"[I]n any proceeding under . . . Title 42 (Adoption) . . . only the initials of the child, parent(s), or individual part(y)ies, as the case may be, may be used in all filings, unless otherwise provided by law." M. R. App. P. 10(6). The Appellants' brief uses the first name of the minor child on page 17, and this must be redacted or abbreviated with initials. Under M. R. App. P. 11(4)(e):
A brief must be accompanied by a certificate of compliance which states the document's line spacing and states either: (1) the document is proportionately spaced, together with the typeface, point size, and word count; or (2) the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch and word count, or, the number of counted pages, pursuant to section (4)(b) or (c) of this rule. A party preparing this certificate may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief. The certification is not included in calculating the document's length.
The Appellants' brief does not contain a certificate of compliance.
M. R. App. P. 12(1) sets forth the specific sections an appellant's brief must include. The Appellants' brief does not contain a statement of issues, a statement of the case, or a statement of the standard of review.
Finally, the brief of the appellant must contain an appendix that includes "the relevant judgment, orders, findings of fact, conclusions of law, jury instructions, rulings, or decisions from which the appeal is taken[.]" M. R. App. P. 12(1)(i). The Appellants' brief does not contain the order or judgment of the District Court that is being appealed. The Court does not need other documents, as it can retrieve the District Court file from the District Court, but it does require the Appellants to attach the District Court order they are appealing.
The requirements for formatting and content of Supreme Court briefs are explained in the Civil Appellate Handbook, which the Court will provide for Appellants' guidance in revising their opening brief.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the signed original and seven copies of the referenced brief be returned for revisions necessary to comply with the specified Rules;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a signed original and seven copies of the revised brief ordered herein be filed within ten (10) days of the date of this Order with the Clerk of this Court and that one copy of the revised brief be served on each counsel of record;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no changes, additions, or deletions other man those specified in this Order may be made to the brief as originally filed;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the postage costs for returning the referenced copies of Appellants' brief will be billed to Appellants by the Clerk of this Court and shall be due and payable upon receipt; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the times for any subsequent briefing contained in M. R. App. P. 13 shall run from the date of filing of the revised brief.
The Clerk of this Court is directed to mail a true copy of this Order to Appellants, together with a copy of this Court's Civil Appellate Handbook, and to mail a true copy of this Order to all counsel upon whom the brief was served.