Case Information
*1 07/07/2021
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: OP 21-0311 OP 21-0311 FILED SCOTT R. MORGAN, JUL 0 6 2021 Bowen Greenvvooa Petitioner, Clerk of Supreme Court State of Montana v.
ORDER THE HONORABLE RIENNE H. McELYEA, EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT,
Res ponde nt. Appearing on his own behalf, Appellant Scott Morgan filed the opening brief on appeal on July 3, 2021. Though this Court attempts to give some leeway to self- representing litigants, there are certain requirements of the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure that are essential to its a b il i t y to consider an appeal. After reviewing the Appellant's opening brief, this Court has determined that the brief does not comply with the Rules and must be resubmitted. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Appellant's opening brief be returned for revisions necessary to comply with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. In particular, Appellant's brief must comply with the following:
1 . M. R. A pp . P . Rule 1 1 ( 6 ) ( b) ( i v ) r e qu i r es t he f ir st p ag e an d cove r of a n orig inal proceeding brief to include the names of the parties, including the designations of the parties. Because this Court has deemed Appellant's direct appeal, Cause No. DA 21-0285, an orig inal proceeding, now OP 21-0311, the case name (parties and designations) on Appellant's opening brief should match the case name on this Order.
2. M. R. App. P. 12(1)(d) requires that the brief contain a statement of facts relevant to the issues p r e s en t e d for review, with specific references to the pages or the parts of the record at which material facts appear. Appellant's opening brief co nta ins no citations to materials in the record. The brief mus t in clud e references to particular parts of the record on appeal, pur suan t to Rule 1 2( 9 ) (i.e., Transcript, p. 231; J u d gm e n t , p. 3; o r Or der Denying H e a r i n g , p . 2).
*2 3. M. R. App. P. 12(1)(g) requires that the brief contain citations to the authorities, statutes, and pages of the record relied on in the argument. Appellant's opening brief lacks citations to authority and the record throughout the argument section.
4. M. R. App. P. 13 requires the Appellant to serve a brief on the opposing party. As this action is an original proceeding, the Honorable Rienne H. McElyea, Eighteenth Judicial District Court and District Court Standing Master Magdalena Bowen must be served in addition to Amy Morgan's counsel.
Therefore, I T IS ORDERED t h a t th e s ig ne d or igi na l a n d ni ne co pi es of th e re fere nced b ri ef b e returned for revisions necessary to comply with the specified Rules; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a signed original and nine copies of the revised brief ordered herein b e filed within ten (10) days of the date of this Order with the Clerk of this Court and that one copy of the re vis ed brief be served on each counsel of r ec o rd ;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no changes, additions, or deletions other than those specified in this Order may b e made to the brief as originally filed; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED t ha t the postage costs for returning the referenced copies of Appellant's brief will b e billed to Appellant by the Clerk of this Court and shall b e due and payable upon receipt; 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 of this Court is directed to mail a true copy of this Order to Appellant and to mail a true copy of this Ord er to all counsel upon whom the brief was served. DATED this 6th day of July, 2021. For the Court, Justice