A Typical Appellee's Brief
No. COA17-123 TWENTY-FOURTH DISTRICT
SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA
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[Plaintiff's Name as in Final Judgment or Order on Appeal], Plaintiff, | From Avery County |
v. | |
[Defendant's Name as in Final Judgment or Order on Appeal], Defendant. |
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DEFENDANT-APPELLEE'S BRIEF
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Notes on Deadlines for Filing and Serving the Appellee's Brief:
The appellee must file and serve his brief within 30 days after service of appellant's brief (plus an additional three days if the appellant's brief was served by mail or by email). N.C. R. App. P. 13(a)(1). In death penalty cases, the appellee must file and serve his brief within 60 days after they receive service of appellant's brief. N.C. R. App. P. 13(a)(2). "If an appellee fails to file and serve its brief within the time allowed, the appellee may not be heard in oral argument except by permission of the court." N.C. R. App. P. 13(c).INDEX
TABLE OF CASES AND AUTHORITIES .................... ii
ARGUMENT .................................................................. 1
I. THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY DIRECTED VERDICT ON THE WIDTH OF THE DRIVEWAY, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GENUINE ISSUE OF A MATERIAL FACT CONCERNING IT..................................... 1
CONCLUSION .............................................................. 2
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE .............................. 3
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ....................................... 4
APPENDIX
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-221 (2017).................App. 1
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-245 (2017)..............App. 2-8
N.C. R. Civ. P. 10..........................................App. 9
N.C. R. App. P. 34..................................App. 10-13
U.S. Const. amend. IV ................................App. 14
U.S. Const. amend. XI ................................App. 15
N.C. Const. art. VI ......................................App. 16
ADDENDUM
TABLE OF CASES AND AUTHORITIES
Cases:
Cochran v. Keller, 84 N.C. App. 205, 352 S.E.2d 458 (1987) .................................................................... 3
Thompson v. Umberger, 221 N.C. 178, 19 S.E.2d 484 (1942) .................................................................... 4
Zagaroli v. Pollock, 94 N.C. App. 46, 379 S.E.2d 653
(1989) .................................................................... 5
Statutes:
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-221 (2017) ................................ 13
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-245 (2017) ................................ 11
Rules:
N.C. R. Civ. P. 10........................................................... 4
N.C. R. App. P. 34.......................................................... 9
Other Authorities:
U.S. Const. amend. IV................................................. 14
U.S. Const. amend. XI ................................................. 15
N.C. Const. art. VI....................................................... 18
No. COA17-123 TWENTY-FOURTH DISTRICT
SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA
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[Plaintiff's Name as in Final Judgment or Order on Appeal], Plaintiff, | From Avery County |
v. | |
[Defendant's Name as in Final Judgment or Order on Appeal], Defendant. |
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DEFENDANT-APPELLEE'S BRIEF
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ARGUMENT
I. THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY DIRECTED VERDICT ON THE WIDTH OF THE DRIVEWAY, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GENUINE ISSUE OF A MATERIAL FACT CONCERNING IT.
Plaintiff established that there was no genuine issue concerning the width of the driveway easement and that the court . . . [argument continues]
Note on Sections Unnecessary in Appellee's Brief:
The appellee's brief may proceed directly to the Argument, unless the appellee disagrees with the appellant's Statement of the Facts, Statement of Grounds for Appellate Review, or Standard of Review, or if appellee wishes to present additional questions. See N.C. R. App. P. 28(c).Plaintiff described the width of the easement in 1973 as follows:
We had a, it was a black-top drive. The driveway was only like two lanes. It was, but they were wide black-top lanes when we bought that. I guess you'd call it the lip or whatever of the driveway where we turned.
(T p 12).
Plaintiff identified photographs of. . . [argument continues]
Notes on Long Quotations:
The above illustrates the method of including long quotations in the brief: indent 0.75 inch from each margin, and single space the material. See N.C. R. App. P. Appendix B. Important material should be quoted directly in the brief for persuasive purposes, rather than merely including it in the Appendix to the brief.CONCLUSION
The judgment of the trial court should be affirmed.
Respectfully submitted, this ____ day of ________, 2023.
[LAW FIRM NAME, if any, and only if counsel is retained and not appointed]
By: Electronically submitted
____________________________________
[Name of Counsel (N.C. Bar No.)]
Attorney for Defendant-Appellee
245 S. Main Street
Newland, NC 28786
(919) 456-1245
lawyer@lawfirm.com
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
Pursuant to Rule 28(j) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure, counsel for Defendant certifies that the foregoing brief, which is prepared using a 14-point proportionally spaced font with serifs, is fewer than 8,750 words (excluding covers, captions, indexes, tables of authorities, counsel's signature block, certificates of service, this certificate of compliance, and appendixes) as reported by the word-processing software.
Electronically submitted
______________________________
[Name of Counsel]
Note on Certificate of Compliance:
The Certificate of Compliance is only required for briefs filed in the Court of Appeals and in direct appeals to the Supreme Court under Rule 3.1. See N.C. R. App. P. 28(j). Otherwise, there are no length limitations for briefs in the Supreme Court.CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned hereby certifies that he served a copy of the foregoing brief on counsel for Plaintiff by e-mail addressed as follows:
[Name and e-mail address of opposing counsel]
This the ____ day of ________, 2023.
Electronically submitted
__________________________
[Name of Counsel]
[Follow the brief with an appendix, if needed. See N.C. R. App. P. 28(d). For more information, refer to the note about appendixes following A Typical Appellant's Brief, supra.]
Notes on Filing and Serving Briefs:
When a document is filed electronically on the appellate courts' e-filing website, the document can be served by email, "by use of the other counsel's correct and current e-mail address(es)." N.C. R. App. P. 26(c). Counsel must file briefs in the appellate courts electronically. N.C. R. App. P. 26(a). A brief is considered filed when it is received by the electronic-filing site. Id. A person who is not represented by counsel is encouraged to file briefs in the appellate courts electronically but may file by hand delivery or mail. Id. A brief is filed by hand delivery when it is received by the clerk, and a brief filed by mail is deemed filed on the date of mailing, as evidenced by the proof of service. Id. "If an appellant fails to file and serve a brief within the time allowed, the appeal may be dismissed on motion of an appellee or on the court's own initiative." N.C. R. App. P. 13(c). Comparatively, "[i]f an appellee fails to file and serve its brief within the time allowed, the appellee may not be heard in oral argument except by permission of the court." Id.