Court Opinion

ID: 9365060
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-20 22:05:28.685136+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:42.913805
License: Public Domain

01/20/2023

           IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
                                                                                       Case Number: DA 22-0600

                                        DA 22-0600
                                    _________________

SALVATRICE MUSCLE,

             Plaintiff and Appellant,

      v.                                                            ORDER

ANTONIO SANTIN, M.D.,

             Defendant and Appellee.
                                    _________________

       This Court reviews briefs to ensure compliance with the Montana Rules of
Appellate Procedure. After reviewing the Appellant’s opening brief filed electronically
on January 19, 2023, this Court has determined that the brief does not comply with the
below-referenced Rules and must be resubmitted.
       M. R. App. P. 2(4) requires the caption of an appeal to “list the parties in the same
order as the caption used in the district court, with the addition of the designations
‘appellant’ and ‘appellee’ as appropriate.” M. R. App. P. 11(6)(b)(iii) requires the correct
caption to be used on the cover page of the brief. The Appellant’s opening brief has
modified the caption from that used in the district court.
       M. R. App. P. 12(1)(d) requires a “statement of the facts relevant to the issues
presented for review, with references to the pages or the parts of the record at which
material facts appear[.]” The Appellant’s statement of facts contains numerous citations
to the trial transcript without giving a page number as to where in the transcript those
facts may be located.
       M. R. App. P. 12(1)(i) requires the Appellant’s opening brief to contain an
“appendix that includes the relevant judgment, order(s), findings of fact, conclusions of
law, jury instruction(s), ruling(s), or decision(s) from which the appeal is taken together
with any written memorandum or rationale of the court, and those pages of the transcript
containing any oral ruling in support.” The Appellant’s opening brief, which is appealing
from several orders of the district court and a jury verdict, contains no appendix.
         Finally, the Appellant’s opening brief is also premature, because under M. R. App.
P. 13(1), an appellant shall file the opening brief “within 30 days after the date on which
the record is filed.” Pursuant to M. R. App. P. 8(1), “the original papers and exhibits
filed in the district court, the transcript of proceedings, if any, and a certified copy of the
docket entries prepared by the clerk of the district court shall constitute the record on
appeal in all cases.” Under M. R. App. P. 9, the record is deemed transmitted once the
District Court record and any necessary transcripts are filed with the Clerk of this Court.
Because no transcripts have yet been filed in this case, the time for briefing has not yet
begun.
Therefore,
         IT IS ORDERED that the referenced brief is rejected.
         IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Appellant shall electronically file with the
Clerk of this Court a revised brief containing the revisions necessary to comply with the
specified Rules within thirty (30) days after the date on which the complete record is filed
and that the Appellant shall serve copies of the revised brief on all parties of record;
         IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no changes, additions, or deletions other than
those specified in this Order may be made to the brief as originally filed; and
         IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the times for any subsequent briefing contained
in M. R. App. P. 13 shall run from the date of filing of the revised brief.
         The Clerk is directed to provide a true copy of this Order to the Appellant and to
all parties of record.

                                                                                   Electronically signed by:
                                                                                       Ingrid Gustafson
                                                                              Justice, Montana Supreme Court
                                                                                       January 20 2023