Vt. R. App. P. 25

As amended through October 8, 2024

Rule 25 - Filing and Service

(a)Filing.

(1)Filing in General. All documents must be filed with the Supreme Court in the manner provided by V.R.C.P. 5(e) and the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, where applicable.

(2) Deleted

(3)Public Access Compliance. All new filings in the Supreme Court, including filings of briefs and printed cases, must comply with Rule 7(a)(1) of the Rules for Public Access to Court Records. An efiler must certify compliance as part of the electronic filing process. A nonelectronic filer must certify compliance in a separate certification. Any preexisting document that is part of the record on appeal, and for which public access was restricted in whole or in part in the trial court or in the administrative body from which an appeal is taken, must continue to be so restricted in the Supreme Court.

(b)Manner of Service. Unless a rule requires service by the clerk, a party must, at or before the time of filing a paper, serve a copy on the other parties to the appeal in the manner provided by V.R.C.P. 5(b) and 2020 V.R.E.F. 11, if applicable, but documents filed after the deadline for filing an appellee's docketing statement do not need to be served on a party who has neither filed a docketing statement nor entered an appearance in the Supreme Court.

(c)Proof of Service.

(1)Certifying Service When Electronically Filing. When a document is filed electronically, the efiler must certify compliance with service requirements as set out in 2020 V.R.E.F. 11(g).

(2)Certifying Service When Nonelectronically Filing. When a document is filed nonelectronically, the filer must certify compliance with service requirements as set out in V.R.C.P. 5(h).

(d)Signing of Documents; Representations; Sanctions.

(1)Signing of Documents. If a party is represented by counsel, at least one attorney of record must sign every document filed and provide his or her address. If a party is not represented, the party must sign the document and provide the party's address. The Court will strike any unsigned document unless the document is signed promptly after the omission is brought to the attention of the person who filed it.

(2)Representations. By presenting a document to the Court--whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it--an attorney or self-represented party is making the certification provided by V.R.C.P. 11(b) as to that paper.

(3)Sanctions. If after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the Court determines that V.R.C.P. 11(b) has been violated, the Court may, subject to V.R.C.P. 11(c), impose an appropriate sanction on those violating the rule or responsible for the violation.

Vt. R. App. P. 25

Amended Dec. 12, 1985, eff. 4/1/1986; 1/20/1992, eff. 3/2/1992; 10/11/2006, eff. 12/11/2006; 8/30/2011, eff. 10/31/2011; 6/11/2013, eff. 9/3/2013; amended June 13, 2018, effective 8/13/2018; amended July 13, 2021, eff. 8/17/2021; amended May 9, 2022, eff. 9/6/2022.

Reporter's Notes-2022 Amendment

The former language of V.R.A.P. 25(a)(1)-(3), regarding filing of documents, is deleted. Amended 25(a)(1) instead states that filing must be made as provided in V.R.C.P. 5(e) and the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, where applicable. V.R.C.P. 5(e) is simultaneously amended to clarify the methods of filing permitted and to generally allow email filing by parties that are not required and have not elected to file using the Judiciary's electronic filing system. Amended V.R.C.P. 5(e)(4) delineates the standards for email filing. For consistency, the provisions of V.R.C.P. 5(e) are incorporated into the appellate rule. As indicated in V.R.C.P. 5(e)(4)(A), email filings must be sent to the general email account for the court where the filing is made. This general email for the Supreme Court is jud.supremecourt@vermont.gov.

V.R.A.P. 25(a)(2)(B) is deleted. The subparagraph previously provided "A brief or printed case is timely filed if mailed or delivered to the carrier on or before the last day for filing." Former V.R.A.P. 25(a)(2)(B) was based upon F.R.A.P. 25. Generally, under the federal rules, a filing is not timely unless the papers are received by the clerk within the time allowed. See F.R.A.P. 25(a)(2)(A)(i). An exception is made in the case of briefs and appendices under F.R.A.P. 25(a)(2)(A)(ii). This exception is made to afford the parties the maximum time to prepare their briefs. See Notes of Advisory Committee, F.R.A.P. 25.

Given the implementation of electronic filing in the Supreme Court and the concurrent amendments allowing filing by email, the provision is outdated. To the extent the purpose of the exception for briefs is to give parties the maximum time to complete their briefs, currently proposed amendments would expand the deadlines for these filings from 30 to 40 days for an appellant's principal brief, from 21 to 30 days for an appellee's principal brief, and from 7 days to 14 days for a reply brief.

In addition, this special exception to the general rule that filing means filing, not mailing, is a source of confusion for parties and court staff. Removing the provision is consistent with ongoing efforts to simplify and clarify time-counting in the rules that began when the "day is a day" method of counting was adopted in 2018. See Reporter's Notes to 2018 amendment of Rule 6(a).

V.R.A.P. 25(a)(2)(C) previously contained the inmate filing rule. The text is the same as incorporated V.R.C.P. 5(e)(6) and so it is not necessary to repeat the language in the appellate rule.

Former V.R.A.P. 25(a)(3) allowed filing of a motion directly with a Justice when permitted. Incorporated V.R.C.P. 5(e)(1) allows a judge to accept a document for filing and then to pass it to the clerk for filing. Therefore, 25(a)(3) is redundant and deleted.

V.R.A.P. 25(a)(4), concerning public access compliance, is carried forward and renumbered (3).

Some minor wording changes are made in V.R.A.P. 25(d)(1) to remove gendered pronouns.

Reporter's Notes-2021 Amendment

Rule 25 is revised to update its requirements consistent with current practice and the implementation of an electronic case management system and electronic filing.

Rule 25(a)(1) is amended to specify that filings may be done electronically or nonelectronically. Rule 25(a)(2) addresses nonelectronic filing and cross references the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing for when nonelectronic filing is permitted.

Rule 25(a)(4), which required redaction of social security numbers in filings in the Supreme Court, is amended to require that filings comply with Rule 7(a)(1) of Rules for Public Access to Court Records, whether the record is being filed electronically or nonelectronically. See also V.R.E.F. 5(b)(5)-(6), 7(a)(5), 7(c)(3). The earlier version highlighted only one part of the privacy protection requirements of filers. In anticipation of electronic case files in the Vermont Courts, the responsibilities of filers were expanded and generalized in a 2019 rewrite of the Rules for Public Access to Court Records. See Reporter's Notes to Rule 1 of the Rules for Public Access to Court Records. The amendment specifies that those responsibilities apply to filings in the Supreme Court.

In appeals from the superior court, the appellate record includes individual case records filed in the lower court. These individual records were filed, or converted to electronic records, in compliance with the Rules for Public Access to Court Records. To the extent that the process resulted in restrictions on public access in whole or in part, those restrictions continue to apply in the Supreme Court under Vermont Rule for Public Access to Court Records 6(i). For example, any record that was not publicly accessible in the superior court will not be publicly accessible as part of a public appeal volume or be included in a printed case that is publicly accessible. Where a redacted version of a record has been filed in the trial court, it can be included in a printed case to which the public has access. In keeping with the current practice of the Supreme Court with respect to proceedings that are closed in the superior court, and for which all records are not publicly accessible, briefs in the Supreme Court are not publicly accessible even if initials are used for parties to prevent public identification of the parties.

Rule 25(b) and (c) are amended to clarify how parties are served and how to prove service. Parties must serve documents as required by V.R.C.P. 5(b) and 2020 V.R.E.F. 11 when applicable. Subdivision (c) is amended to explain how to prove service. When documents are electronically filed, the efiler must comply with V.R.E.F. 11(g) which requires service on other efilers to be certified through use of a submission agreement upon filing or through use of a certificate of service. Certifying service for nonelectronic filing is done as set out in V.R.C.P. 5(h) using a certificate of service.

Subparagraph 25(a)(2)(C) and paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) are amended to replace the word "paper" with "document."

Reporter's Notes-2018 Amendment

Rule 25(a)(2)(C) is added to provide a "prisoner's mailbox" procedure for the filing of papers in the Supreme Court by an inmate confined in an institution. The provision is virtually identical to V.R.A.P. 4(f) (prisoner filing of notice of appeal), the simultaneously added V.R.C.P. 3(b) (commencement of a civil action), and V.R.C.P. 5(e)(4) (inmate filing of a document in a civil action). See Reporter's Notes to simultaneously added V.R.C.P. 3(b) (prisoner filing of civil complaint), and to 2017 amendment adding V.R.A.P. 4(f).