Opinion
No. AF 07-0016
Filed: April 26, 2011
ORDER
We hereby adopt the attached amended Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure, which shall be effective as of October 1, 2011. The substantive changes, to M. R. App. P. 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 22, are described briefly below; they were suggested by a variety of sources and reflect a variety of purposes. The forms appended to the Rules have not been changed.
Rule 4(5)(a)(iii) is amended to clarify the time allowed for filing a cross-appeal, and Rule 4(5)(a)(iv) is amended to include a time within which a ruling on a M. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion may be appealed.
Rule 7(4)(d) is amended to promote the appointment of appellate mediators in reasonably close proximity to the parties. It is further amended to allow parties to an appeal subject to mandatory appellate alternative dispute resolution a second opportunity to select their own mediator.
Rule 8(4)(a) is amended to require persons responsible for preparing transcripts to include, with all transcripts filed with the Clerk of this Court, a certificate of service upon all applicable parties.
Rule 9 is amended by the addition of subsection (7), allowing the Clerk of Court to charge appellants in civil cases for the mailing costs of returning the record to the district court.
Rule 10(2) is amended concerning service of transcripts on county attorneys in certain types of cases. Rule 10(6) is amended to eliminate the redaction requirement in appendices filed with the Court. Rule 10(7) is reworded, amended to eliminate the requirement that full names of minor children be redacted, and expanded to incorporate several new provisions, consistent with those in the Rules of Civil Procedure, concerning redaction of confidential personal information.
Rule 11(1) is amended by deletion of some requirements as to the type of recycled paper to be used in documents filed with the Court. A revision to Rule 11(6)(a) changes the required brief color for appellees' briefs from red to salmon, in order to allow for recycling of those brief covers.
Both Rules 11(6)(a) and 12(5) are amended to prohibit the use of plastic-coated tabs in briefs and other papers filed with this Court.
Rule 12(3) is amended to clarify the word or page limit for reply briefs in cases with multiple appellees or cross-appeals. Rule 12(11) is amended to provide that filed DVD copies of briefs shall not include attachments or appendices, and to require the redaction of all confidential information from DVD copies of briefs.
Rule 13(2) is amended to provide that, when a separately-bound appendix is filed, only 7 copies and an original are required.
Finally, a new Rule 22(5) is adopted to conform with M. R. Civ. P. 62(f), and the former Rule 22(5) is renumbered Rule 22(6).
The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order and the attached Rules to the Montana State Law Library for posting on the Court's website, and to the State Bar of Montana. The Clerk is further directed to provide copies of this Order and the attached Rules to Lee Heiman at the Montana Legislative Services Division; the Office of the Appellate Defender; t he President of the Montana Court Reporters' Association; the Office of the Attorney General; the President of the Montana County Attorneys' Association; the Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure; and Thomson-Reuters.
Dated this 26th day of April, 2011.
JUSTICES PATRICIA COTTER, MICHAEL E WHEAT, BETH BAKER, JIM RICE, JAMES C. NELSON and BRIAN MORRIS