Opinion ID: 782349
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Supplementation Under the Equitable Power of this Court

Text: 19 Inland Bulk next claims that we should permit the record to be supplemented under the equitable power of this court. Several circuits have held that they have an inherent equitable authority to supplement the record on appeal under circumstances where Fed.R.App.P. 10 would not apply. See United States v. Kennedy, 225 F.3d 1187, 1192 (10th Cir.2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 943, 121 S.Ct. 1406, 149 L.Ed.2d 348 (2001); Ross v. Kemp, 785 F.2d 1467, 1474 n. 12 (11th Cir.1986); Turk v. United States, 429 F.2d 1327, 1329 (8th Cir.1970). Commentators have noticed this inherent equitable power as well, although they point out that the practice is only justified in rare instances. See 16A Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice & Procedure § 3956.4, at 349-51 (3d ed. 1999 & Supp.2003) (In special circumstances, however, a court of appeals may permit supplementation of the record to add material not presented to the district court.); 20 Moore's Federal Practice § 310.10[5][f], at 310-19 (3d ed. 2000) (In extraordinary situations, the circuit court may consider material not presented to the district court when it believes the interests of justice are at stake.). While other circuits have embraced the notion that the record can be supplemented under an appellate court's equitable authority, we as of yet have not. See Chrysler Int'l Corp. v. Cherokee Exp. Co., No. 97-1003, 1998 WL 45488, at  (6th Cir. Jan.27, 1998); see also Hadix v. Johnson, 144 F.3d 925, 945 (6th Cir.1998) (noting that `[b]ecause of their very potency,' the inherent powers of the courts `must be exercised with restraint and discretion') (citations omitted). 20 We will not allow Inland Bulk to supplement the record pursuant to any inherent equitable power this court may have. Even assuming such a power exists, we do not find any special circumstances present that would justify its exercise here. Most of the new evidence Inland Bulk seeks to add to the record could have been presented to the district court below, and none of it establishes beyond doubt the proper disposition of this case. See CSX Transp., Inc. v. City of Garden City, 235 F.3d 1325, 330 (11th Cir.2000) (A primary factor which we consider in deciding a motion to supplement the record is whether acceptance of the proffered material into the record would establish beyond any doubt the proper resolution of the pending issues.). Lastly, we need not consider this new information because the point Inland Bulk is trying to establish with this material — that Revision B (rather than Revision A) is the operative contract between the parties — is ultimately not material to our legal analysis, as we will explain later. 21