469 So. 2d 976 | La. | 1985
concurring.
Prior to the adoption of Rule 2-8.6 of the Uniform Rules of the Courts of Appeal, when the appellant missed filing his brief by the deadline provided in the rules, he usually waited until the day of argument to file a brief, at great inconvenience to both the court and the appellee. Now, when the appellant fails to file a brief timely, the court may notify the appellant that his appeal will be dismissed as abandoned if the brief is not filed within thirty days. The present rule thus provides a reasonable solution to the problem of late brief filing, while protecting a litigant from having his appeal dismissed because his attorney was not diligent.
In the present case, when the deadline passed without appellant’s having filed a brief, appellee filed a motion requesting the court to dismiss the appeal under Rule 2-8.6. The court’s December 11, 1984 order did not notify appellant to file a brief within thirty days under penalty of dismissal, but instead ordered appellant to “show cause in a brief to be filed on or before January 4, 1985, why this appeal should not be dismissed”.
Reinstatement of the appeal by this court does not condone the dilatory conduct by appellant’s counsel. Nevertheless, appeals are favored in law, and dismissals based on abandonment will be approved only if there is scrupulous compliance with reason
. Other sanctions are also available to promote timely filing of briefs. See Rule 2-12.12.
. The order did not refer to Rule 2-8.6.
. The far preferable procedure, of course, is for the notice (1) to inform the appellant that the appeal shall be dismissed as abandoned unless the brief is filed within thirty days, as provided in Rule 2-8.6, and (2) to give the full thirty days provided in the rule.