Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 132

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Below is Rule 132 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. Rule 132 deals with Form of Briefs, Appendices, Supplemental Records, Motions and other Papers, and is indexed under TITLE VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

132.01 Form of Briefs, Appendices, and Supplemental Records

Subdivision 1. Form Requirements. Any process capable of producing a clear black image on white paper may be used. Briefs shall be printed or typed on unglazed opaque paper. If a monospaced font is used, printed or typed material (including headings and footnotes) must appear in a font that produces a maximum of 10 1/2 characters per inch; if a proportional font is used, printed or typed material (including headings and footnotes) must appear in at least 13-point font. Formal briefs and accompanying appendices shall be bound together by a method that securely affixes the contents, and that is substantially equivalent to the list of approved binding methods maintained by the clerk of appellate courts. Methods of binding that are not approved include stapling, continuous coil spiral binding, spiral comb bindings and similar bindings. Pages shall be 8 1/2 by 11 inches in size with written matter not exceeding 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches. Written matter in briefs and addenda shall appear on only one side of the paper; appendices and supplemental records may be produced in the same manner or using two-sided printing. The pages of the appendix shall be separately and consecutively numbered. Briefs shall be double-spaced, except for tables of contents, tables of authorities, statements of issues, headings and footnotes, which may be single-spaced. Carbon copies shall not be submitted.

Subdivision 2. Front Cover. The front cover of the brief and appendix shall contain:

(a) the name of the court and the appellate court docket number, which number shall be printed or lettered in bold-face print or prominent lettering and shall be located one-half inch from the top center of the cover;

(b) the title of the case;

(c) the title of the document, e.g., Appellant's Brief and Appendix; and

(d) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the attorneys representing each party to the appeal, and attorney registration license numbers of the preparers of the brief.

The front cover shall not be protected by a clear plastic or mylar sheet.

If briefs are formally bound, the cover of the brief of the appellant should be blue; that of the respondent, red; that of an intervenor or amicus curiae, green; that of any reply brief, gray. The cover of the appendix, if separately printed, should be white. The cover of an amendment or supplement should be the same color as the document which it amends or supplements.

Subdivision 3. Length Limit. Except for good cause shown and with permission of the appellate court, briefs, whether printed or typewritten, exclusive of pages containing the table of contents, tables of citations, any addendum containing statutes, rules, regulations, etc., and any appendix, shall not exceed 45 pages for principal briefs, 20 pages for reply briefs, and 20 pages for amicus briefs, unless the brief complies with one of these alternative measures:

(a) A principal brief is acceptable if:

(1) it contains no more than 14,000 words; or

(2) it uses a monospaced font and contains no more than 1,300 lines of text.

(b) A reply brief is acceptable if:

(1) it contains no more than 7,000 words; or

(2) it uses a monospaced font and contains no more than 650 lines of text.

(c) An amicus brief is acceptable if:

(1) it contains no more than 7,000 words; or

(2) it uses a monospaced font and contains no more than 650 lines of text.

A brief submitted under Rule 132.01, subd. 3(a), (b), or (c) must include a certificate that the brief complies with the word count or line count limitation. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word or line count of the word-processing software used to prepare the brief. The certificate must state the name and version of the word processing software used to prepare the brief, state that the brief complies with the typeface requirements of this rule, and state either:

(1) the number of words in the brief; or

(2) the number of lines of monospaced font in the brief.

Application for filing an enlarged brief shall be filed at least 10 days prior to the date the brief is due.

Subdivision 4. Supplemental Records. Supplemental records shall be bound in separate volumes and shall, in all other respects, comply with this rule.

(Amended effective January 1, 2009.)

Comment - 1983

There are page limitations on all briefs.

The form of briefs, appendices, and supplemental records to be submitted has been changed. Commercial typographical printing is no longer required; instead any process capable of producing a clear black image on white paper is acceptable. Spiral spine binding is also no longer required. The appellate courts will publish criteria for permitted binding methods.

The color coding system introduced is only applicable if commercially produced briefs are submitted.

The appellant and the respondent's briefs are limited to 50 pages exclusive of tables of contents and authorities, addenda, and appendices. Reply briefs shall not exceed 25 pages and briefs of amicus curiae are restricted to 20 pages. Any request to file an enlarged brief must be filed at least 10 days before the brief is due.

Advisory Committee Comment - 1998 Amendments

Rule 132.01, subd. 1 has been modified to make clear the requirement that the written material in briefs should appear on only one side of the paper. The Clerk of Appellate Courts maintains a list of approved binding methods and this list is available upon request.

Rule 132.01, subd. 2 has been modified in two respects. First, the rule has been re-written to make clear that in all cases where formal bound briefs are submitted, the color coding requirements apply. The rule has also been changed to eliminate the provision regarding the color of brief covers in the Supreme Court. The rule previously provided that the parties would use the same color covers as they did in the Court of Appeals. This caused considerable confusion among the bar, and the requirement was dropped in favor of a rule that consistently requires the opening brief of the appellant to be blue, the opening brief of the party responding to that brief to be red and reply briefs to be gray. Rule 101.02, subd. 6 defines "appellant" to mean the party seeking review, including relators and petitioners.

Minnesota Statutes, section 480.0515, subd. 2 (1996), requires documents submitted by an attorney to a court of this state, and all papers appended to the document be submitted on paper containing not less than ten percent postconsumer material, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 115A.03, subd. 24b. The statute also provides that a court may not refuse a document solely because the document was not submitted on recycled paper. Finally, subd. (3)(b) of the statute makes the entire section nonapplicable "if recycled paper is not readily available."

Subdivision 5 of this Rule regarding reliance upon trial court memoranda has been moved to Rule 128.01, subd. 2.

Advisory Committee Comment - 2000 Amendments

The rule has been amended to provide for an alternative measure of length of appellate briefs, based on word volume and not page count. This alternative allows parties to choose type size that is more readable than they might choose if endeavoring to satisfy the page limit requirement. The word volume measure has been derived from the analogous provisions of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and in general will not significantly alter the amount of text that a party may submit, regardless of the method chosen to determine brief length. The amended rule provides for a certification of brief length that will enable the appellate courts to verify that the brief complies with the rule. The rule also increases the minimum permissible font size for briefs and shortens the maximum permissible length of principal briefs that are not measured on a word or line count basis. These amendments only apply to formal briefs, not to motions, petitions for further review, or other pleadings.

Advisory Committee Comment - 2008 Amendments

Rule 132.01 is amended to permit, but not require, the preparation of appendices and supplemental records using two-sided copies. The rule’s requirement for use of opaque paper is particularly important if a party elects to submit a two-sided appendix.

132.02 Form of Motions and Other Papers

Subdivision 1. Form Requirements. Papers not required to be produced in the manner prescribed by Rule 132.01 shall be 8-1/2 by 11 inches in size with typewritten matter not exceeding 6-1/2 by 9-1/2 inches. Any process capable of producing a clear black image on white paper may be used. All material must appear in at least 11-point type, or its equivalent of not more than 16 characters per inch, on unglazed opaque paper. Pages shall be bound or stapled at the top margin and numbered at the center of the bottom margin. Typewritten matters shall be double spaced. Carbon copies shall not be submitted.

Subdivision 2. Caption. Each paper shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title of the case, the appellate court docket number, and a brief descriptive title of the paper; and shall be subscribed by the attorney preparing the paper together with the preparer's address, telephone number, and attorney registration license number.

(Amended effective for appeals taken on or after January 1, 1992.)