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June 15, 2012

Local Rules of the Tenth District Court of Appeals as Amended through August 2012

The Rules in entirety are available online at the Tenth District Court of Appeals website

LOCAL RULES OF THE TENTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
AS AMENDED THROUGH AUGUST 2012
FOREWORD

The following Rules have been promulgated by the Judges of the Tenth District Court of Appeals, pursuant to Section 5(B), Article IV, Ohio Constitution, to supplement the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, for the purpose of promoting the administration of justice, and increasing the efficiency of the operation of the Court and shall be construed to be consistent with said Appellate Rules and Civil Rules.

RULE 1
ELECTRONIC FILING (e-Filing)
(A) Mandatory e-Filing
Except as specifically provided elsewhere in these rules, by other rule or statute, or where expressly authorized by an entry of this court, all documents submitted for filing shall be electronically filed using the Franklin County Clerk of Court's "e-Filing System."
If, on the effective date of these amendments, the e-Filing System is not yet available for all or some appellate case types, filings in these case types shall be made in paper form in accordance with the these rules as Amended on August 1, 2011. From the date on which the Franklin County Clerk of Courts makes the e-Filing System available for one or more appellate case types, filings in such case types shall be filed in accordance with these amendments.
(B) Initiating Pleadings
Complaints and notices of appeal may be e-filed or filed in paper form.
(C) Pro Se Filers
Parties not represented by counsel are not required to utilize the e-Filing system and may file documents in paper form.
(D) Leave to File in Paper Form
An attorney wishing to file a specific document or all documents in a given case in paper form may file a motion requesting leave to so file. Such motion may itself be filed in paper form and shall set forth the exceptional circumstances justifying the request.
(E) Paper Form Documents
Documents filed in paper form shall be scanned and uploaded to the e-Filing System by the Franklin County Clerk of Courts. In such case the uploaded electronic version of the document shall constitute the original document.
(F) Signatures
(1) Attorney’s/Filing Party’s Signature
Documents filed electronically with the Clerk that require an attorney's or a filing party's signature shall be signed with a conformed signature of "/s/ (name)." The correct format for an attorney’s signature is as follows:
/s/Attorney Name
Attorney Name
Supreme Court ID Number 1234567
Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) XYZ Corporation
ABC Law Firm
Address
Telephone
Email
Fax
The conformed signature on an electronically filed document is deemed to constitute a legal signature on the document for purposes of the signature requirements imposed by the Ohio Rules of Superintendence, Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure and/or any other law.
(2) Multiple Signatures
When a stipulation or other document requires two or more signatures:
(a) The filing party or attorney shall first confirm in writing that the contents of the document are acceptable to all persons required to sign the document. The filer will indicate the agreement of all other counsel and/or parties at the appropriate place in the document, usually on the signature line.
(b) The filing party or attorney shall then file the document electronically, identifying all of the signatories, e.g., /s/ Jane Doe, /s/ John Smith, etc.
(3) Third-Party Signatures
Documents containing signatures of third parties (i.e., affidavits, stipulations, etc.) shall be electronically filed only as scanned-in images.
(4) Judge/Judicial Officer Signature
Electronic documents may be signed by a Judge, Magistrate, or Court Administrator by means of an electronic signature. An electronic signature shall consist of a digitized image of the signer's long hand signature superimposed over the court's official seal. Such electronic signature may be affixed to a document only through the signer's secure e-Filing account. All decisions, orders, decrees, judgments and other documents signed by means of an electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as if the signer had affixed his or her signature to a paper copy of the document.

RULE 8
BRIEFS
(A) General Requirements
All briefs shall be in writing and shall contain the matter provided by App.R. 16, be in the form provided by App.R. 19, and be filed within the times provided by App.R. 18, except as otherwise provided herein. When the appellant's brief is filed before the record is filed, the appellee's brief shall be filed no later than twenty days after the date on which the record is filed.
( 1) The body text of a brief must be set in a plain, legible typeface of at least 16 points, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Footnotes are discouraged, but where necessary must be set in the same typeface as used in the body of the brief . The body text of a brief must be double-spaced, but quotations of fifty words or more may be single spaced and blocked. Margins must be at least one inch on all four sides. Page numbers may be placed in the margins, but no text may appear there.
( 2) Briefs shall present the statement of the case and the argument with accuracy, brevity, and clarity, and include only that which is essential to a ready and accurate understanding of the issues raised by the assignments of error. The title page of briefs shall include the appropriate designation "REGULAR CALENDAR" or "ACCELERATED CALENDAR" beneath the case number assigned to the appeal or action.
( 3) Citation to authority in a brief shall be included in the body text and conform to the Manual of Citation issued by the Supreme Court of Ohio's Reporter of Decisions.
(B) Length of Briefs
A brief must be paginated. In a matter assigned to the Regular Calendar, a principal brief shall not exceed 60 pages and a reply brief shall not exceed 20 pages. In a matter assigned to the Accelerated Calendar, a principal brief shall not exceed 30 pages and no reply brief is permitted. The page limits for principal briefs shall not be exceeded without prior leave of the Court obtained in accordance with paragraph (C) of this Rule. In no circumstances shall a reply brief in excess of 20 pages be permitted. The cover page, table of contents, table of cases, statement of the assignments of error, statement of the issues, and any addendum/appendix do not count toward these page limitations. Briefs in excess of 30 pages filed in a matter assigned to the Accelerated Calendar may be stricken or the matter may be reassigned to the regular calendar at the Court's discretion.
(C) Motion for Leave to File Long Brief
For good cause shown and in extraordinary circumstances, the court may grant a party leave to file a principal brief in excess of the page limitation set forth in paragraph (B) above. Application for leave to file a brief in excess of these limits shall be by motion filed no later than seven days prior to the time for filing the brief. Such motion shall specify the number of extra pages requested and the reasons why the extra pages are required. Such motion shall be considered in accordance with Rule 6 of this Court, but will be granted in only rare circumstances.
(D) Cross-Appeals
The brief in support of a separate appeal or a cross-appeal shall be filed within the time provided in App.R. 18(A) for the filing of the brief in support of an appeal, except that if a notice of cross-appeal states that the cross-appeal is conditioned upon the granting of relief to appellant, the cross-appellant's brief may be filed with the cross-appellant's (appellee's) answer brief to the brief of appellant.
(E) Addendum/Appendix
Counsel shall include in any addendum or appendix copies of other materials, including materials required by App.R. 16(E), which are essential to the determination of the assignments of error, such as the trial court decision and judgment entry, findings of fact and conclusions of law, evidentiary materials pertinent to summary judgment, portions of the pleadings material to sustaining motions to dismiss, and relevant portions of documents construed by the trial court. The addendum/appendix shall include a table of contents for reference purposes indexed to the numbered items contained therein. Materials included in an addendum/appendix to an appellant's brief need not be duplicated in the addendum/appendix to the appellee's brief, but reference may simply be made to the appellant's addendum/appendix.