§ CR 76.03 Prehearing conference

CR 76.03 Prehearing conference

(1) This Rule, 76.03, applies to all civil actions appealed to the Court of Appeals, except prisoner applications seeking relief relating to confinement or conditions of confinement and appeals from Circuit Court orders determining paternity, dependency, abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or juvenile status offense.

(2) Upon the filing of a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals in a civil case to which this rule applies, the clerk of the circuit court shall forthwith transmit a copy of the notice of appeal to the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, together with copies of (a) the docket sheet of the court from which the appeal is taken; (b) the judgment or order sought to be reviewed; and (c) any opinion or findings of the circuit court or administrative agency.

(3) In any appeal to which this Rule, 76.03, applies, following the filing of the notice of appeal, the running of time for further steps shall not run until so ordered by the Court of Appeals except for the following: (a) the filing of a notice of cross-appeal under Rule 74.01; (b) the filing of a motion to transfer under Rule 74.02; or the filing of a prehearing statement under this Rule, 76.03. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court of Appeals, the full time for such further steps shall be computed from the date of entry of the order stating that no prehearing conference shall be held pursuant to this rule, or from the date of entry of the order reciting the actions taken and the agreements reached by the parties during a prehearing conference held pursuant to this rule.

(4) Within twenty days after filing the notice of appeal or notice of cross-appeal in the circuit court, each appellant and crossappellant shall file with the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, with service on all other parties, a prehearing statement, on a form to be supplied by the clerk of the circuit court at the time the notice of appeal is filed, setting forth the following information:

(a) The style of the case and circuit court docket number;

(b) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of each attorney whose appearance is entered in the case, together with the name of the party represented by the attorney;

(d) The date on which the notice of appeal and the date on which any notice of cross-appeal was filed;

(e) A statement as to whether the matter has been before the Court of Appeals, on a previous occasion, in which case the clerk shall, if necessary, obtain the old record from the clerk of the trial court, and shall place the old record with the new one;

(f) The type of litigation;

(g) A brief description of the claims, defenses, and issues litigated;

(h) A brief statement of the facts and issues proposed to be raised on appeal, including jurisdictional challenges;

(i) A statement, based on counsel's present knowledge, as to whether the appeal involves a question of first impression;

(j) A statement as to whether the determination of the appeal will turn on the interpretation or application of a particular case or statute and, if so, the name of the case or the number of the statute;

(k) A statement, based upon counsel's present knowledge, as to whether there is pending before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court another case arising from substantially the same case or controversy or involving an issue which is substantially the same, similar or related to an issue in this appeal.

(5) In any civil case to which this rule applies in which the constitutionality of a statute is challenged by any party as an issue in the appeal, a copy of the prehearing statement shall be served upon the Attorney General. The Attorney General may file within 10 days of the filing of the prehearing statement an entry of appearance. If no entry of appearance is filed in such a case by the Attorney General, then no further filings or briefs shall be served on the Attorney General.

(6) Within ten days after the filing of appellant's or cross-appellant's prehearing statement each appellee or cross-appellee may file with the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, with service on all other parties, a supplemental statement containing any other information needed to clarify the issues on appeal and on cross-appeal, and a statement as to whether in the opinion of counsel, the appeal should be designated a special appeal pursuant to CR 76.05.

(7) All civil cases shall be reviewed to determine if a prehearing conference would be of assistance to the Court or the parties; and any party may move for a prehearing conference at the time of filing the prehearing statement or supplemental statement. Such a conference may be conducted by a judge of the Court of Appeals or a staff attorney of the Court known as a conference attorney.

(8) A party shall be limited on appeal to issues in the prehearing statement except that when good cause is shown the appellate court may permit additional issues to be submitted upon timely motion.

(9) A judge of the Court of Appeals designated by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals or a conference attorney designated by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals may direct the attorneys for all parties to attend a prehearing conference, in person or by telephone, to be held as soon as practicable after the filing of the prehearing statement.

(10) The purpose of the conference shall be to consider the possibility of settlement, the simplification of issues, the contents of the record, the time for filing the record and briefs, and any other matters which the judge or conference attorney determines may aid in the handling or disposition of the proceedings.

(11) At the conclusion of the prehearing conference, the judge or conference attorney shall enter an order reciting the actions taken and the agreements reached by the parties and that order shall govern the subsequent course of the proceedings

(12) The comments made during the prehearing conference are confidential, except to the extent disclosed by the prehearing order entered pursuant to CR 76.03(10), and shall not be disclosed by the conference judge or conference attorney nor by counsel in briefs or argument.

(13) In the event of default by any party in any action required by a prehearing conference order, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals shall issue a notice to the party in default providing a 10-day period within which to file an affidavit showing good cause for the default and including when the required action will be taken.

(14) Upon failure of a party or attorney to comply with the provisions of this rule or the provisions of the prehearing conference order, the Court of Appeals may assess reasonable expenses caused by the failure, including attorney's fees; assess all or a portion of the appellate costs; or dismiss the appeal.

(15) A judge who participates in a prehearing conference or becomes involved in settlement discussions pursuant to this rule shall not sit as a member of the panel assigned to hear the appeal.