Appellate courts do away with paper briefs

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In a victory for trees everywhere, the days of blue, red, gray, (and sometimes yellow) appellate briefs are over. With the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ temporary suspension regarding paper copies lapsing on Jan. 30, 2024, the Minnesota Supreme Court has permanently eliminated the requirement that parties serve two paper copies of briefs on opposing parties. This change went into effect on March 1, 2024.

While the Minnesota Supreme Court eliminated the requirement that parties file paper copies of e-filed briefs some time ago, the Minnesota Court of Appeals only stopped requiring paper copies of e-filed briefs as part of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Even then, the Court of Appeals instituted the policy on a temporary basis, which lapsed at the end of January.

The Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent amendments to the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure included an amendment to Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 131.03, eliminating the requirement that parties serve paper copies of e-filed briefs and addenda on opposing parties. Of course, the few parties that are exempt from e-filing their briefs must still file a single paper copy.

If, like us, you still plan to print out paper copies of briefs, may we recommend that you occasionally plant a tree to offset the difference.

Other rules changes

In addition to the change regarding paper briefs, the Court also made some non-controversial changes to other rules:

• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 110.02, subd. 2, was amended to clarify that self-represented parties are responsible for preparing and signing the transcript certificate.
• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 110.02, subd. 4, was amended to clarify how copies of transcripts are provided to parties.
• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 120.02 was amended to clarify that petitions for extraordinary writs should be served upon the trial court using the trial court’s electronic filing and service.
• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 129.02 was amended to clarify that an amicus brief in support of neither party must be filed no later than seven days after the time allowed for filing the petitioner’s or appellant’s brief.
• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 143.05, subd. 3, was amended to add certified supervised practitioners as a category of individuals who may present oral argument with leave of the appellate court.
• Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 144 was amended to mirror Minn. R. Civ. P. 5A by adding the term “promptly” to indicate the timeframe for notifying the attorney general of a constitutional challenge. The 2024 amendments also added a 30-day deadline for the attorney general to seek to intervene after that notice. As the Advisory Committee Comment notes, these amendments are intended to provide clearer timeframes for notice and intervention, and are not intended to expand or contract substantive law.

Erica Holzer is a partner and co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group at Maslon LLP, where she represents clients in complex commercial disputes, products liability litigation, and insurance coverage actions.

Katie Barrett Wiik is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Saul Ewing LLP and a Vice-Chair of the firm’s national appellate practice group. Her practice focuses on appeals and commercial litigation.

Carly Johnson is an associate with Maslon LLP.