Rule 5A:12 - Petition for Appeal and Other Petitions for Discretionary Review(a)When the Petition Must be Filed. - When an appeal to this Court does not lie as a matter of right, a petition for appeal, application for an appeal, or other authorized pleading seeking discretionary review (hereafter "petition"), as appropriate, must be filed with the clerk of this Court: (1) not more than 10 days after entry of the trial court's order in cases governed by Code § 8.01-267.8; (2) not more than 15 days after entry of the trial court's certification in cases governed by Code § 8.01-675.5A(A);(3) not more than 14 days after the filing of the notice of filing of transcripts in cases governed by Code §§ 19.2-398A(A) and (E);(4) not more than 40 days after the filing of the record with this Court in cases governed by Code §§ 19.2-398B(B) and (C); and(5) for any other discretionary appeal, within the time prescribed by the statute authorizing the appeal to the Court of Appeals.(b)Copy to Opposing Counsel. - At the time the petition is filed, a copy of the petition must be transmitted, mailed, or emailed to all opposing counsel of record.(c)What the Petition Must Contain. - A petition under this Rule must contain the following: (1) Assignments of Error. Under a heading entitled "Assignments of Error," the petition must list, clearly and concisely and without extraneous argument, the specific errors in the rulings below-or the issue(s) on which the tribunal or court appealed from failed to rule-upon which the party intends to rely. An exact reference to the page(s) of the transcript, written statement of facts, or record where the alleged error has been preserved in the trial court or other tribunal from which the appeal is taken must be included with each assignment of error but is not part of the assignment of error. If the error relates to failure of the tribunal or court below to rule on any issue, error must be assigned to such failure to rule, providing an exact reference to the page(s) of the transcript, written statement of facts, or record where the alleged error has been preserved in the tribunal below, and specifying the opportunity that was provided to the tribunal or court to rule on the issue(s). (i) Effect of Failure to Assign Error. Only assignments of error assigned in the petition for appeal will be noticed by this Court. If the petition for appeal does not contain assignments of error, the petition will be dismissed.(ii) Insufficient Assignments of Error. An assignment of error which does not address the findings, rulings, or failures to rule on issues in the trial court or other tribunal from which an appeal is taken, or which merely states that the judgment or award is contrary to the law and the evidence, is not sufficient. If the assignments of error are insufficient, the petition will be dismissed.(iii) Effect of Failure to Use Separate Heading or Include Preservation Reference. If the petition contains assignments of error, but the assignments of error are not set forth under a separate heading as provided in subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule, a rule to show cause will issue pursuant to Rule 5A:1A. If there is a deficiency in the reference to the page(s) of the transcript, written statement of facts, or record where the alleged error has been preserved in the trial court or other tribunal from which the appeal is taken-including, with respect to error assigned to failure of such tribunal to rule on an issue, an exact reference to the page(s) of the transcript, written statement of facts, or record where the alleged error has been preserved in such tribunal, specifying the opportunity that was provided to the tribunal to rule on the issue(s)-a rule to show cause will issue pursuant to Rule 5A:1A.(2) Table of Contents and Table of Authorities. A table of contents and table of authorities with cases alphabetically arranged. Citations of all authorities must include the year thereof.(3) Nature of the Case and Material Proceedings Below. A brief statement of the nature of the case and of the material proceedings in the trial court or commission in which the case originated. This statement should omit references to any paper filed or action taken that does not relate to the assignments of error.(4) Statement of Facts. A clear and concise statement of the facts that relate to the assignments of error, with references to the pages of the record, transcript, or written statement of facts. Any quotation from the record should be brief. When the facts are in dispute, the petition must so state. The testimony of individual witnesses should not be summarized seriatim unless the facts are in dispute and such a summary is necessary to support the appellant's version of the facts.(5) Authorities and Argument. With respect to each assignment of error, the standard of review and the argument-including principles of law and the authorities-must be stated in one place and not scattered through the petition. At the option of counsel, the argument may be preceded by a short summary.(6) Conclusion. A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought.(7) Contact Information. The signature of at least one counsel, counsel's name, Virginia State Bar number, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number (if any), and email address (if any).(8) Certificate. A certificate stating the date of mailing or delivery of the petition to opposing counsel.(d)Length. - Except by leave of a judge of this Court, a petition may not exceed the longer of 35 pages or 7,500 words. The page and word limits do not include the cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, signature blocks, or certificate.(e)Filing Fee. - The petition for appeal must be accompanied by the $50 filing fee required by statute. The clerk of this Court may file a petition for appeal that is not accompanied by such fee if the fee is received by the clerk within 10 days of the date the petition for appeal is filed. If the fee is not received within such time, the petition for appeal will be dismissed.(f)The Record. - (1) When referencing any item in the record, the petition must cite the record-page number (e.g., "R. 1") if the record has been transmitted in whole or in part to this Court. No petition will be dismissed for failure to comply with the citation provisions of this rule; however, the clerk of this Court may require that a document be redone in compliance with the citation requirements.(2) A petition for appeal seeking interlocutory review under Code § 8.01-675.5 must be accompanied by a copy of the pertinent portions of the record of the circuit court, including the relevant portions of any transcripts filed in the circuit court and the order(s) entered by the court. That copy of the record constitutes part of the petition for the purpose of paragraph (b), but is not included in the page or word limit.(g)Single Petition in Separate Cases. - Whenever two or more cases were tried together in the trial court or commission below, one petition may be used to bring all such cases before this Court even though the cases were not consolidated below by formal order.(g)Oral Argument. - No oral argument will be permitted on a petition except, consistent with Code § 17.1-407D(D) and Code § 19.2-403, the Commonwealth is entitled to state orally before a panel of the Court the reasons why its petition for appeal should be granted for petitions filed pursuant to Code § 19.2-398.Amended by order dated December 20, 2006, effective 2/1/2007; amended by order dated April 30, 2010, effective 7/1/2010; amended by Order dated 5/16/2014, effective immediately; amended by order dated Friday, May 16, 2014, effective immediately; amended by order dated April 10, 2015, effective 7/1/2015; amended October 31, 2018, effective 1/1/2019; amended by order dated September 3, 2020, effective 9/3/2020; amended by order dated November 23, 2020, effective 3/1/2021; amended by order dated April 1, 2021, effective 6/1/2021; amended by order dated November 1, 2021, effective 1/1/2022; amended by order dated May 2, 2022, effective 7/1/2022; amended by order dated June 21, 2024, effective 8/20/2024.