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Friday, June 08, 2007
Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues Order re extensions of time for the filing of briefs
The Court of Appeals has just posted an Order, signed by Chief Judge Baker, in the case of Challenge Realty, Inc. v. James M. Leisentritt, Indymac Bank, F.S.B., and Countrybrook North C.
Unfortunately the opinion is scanned, so I cannot copy portions of it. What has happened is that on June 4th the Court permitted Appellant's counsel to withdraw, but the order also said that "Appellant's Brief remains due on or before June 15, 2007."
Appellee's counsel, also on June 4th, filed a Limited Objection, noting that Appellant had already obtained three extensions of time and requesting that the Order explicitly state that Appellant's Brief remained due on June 15th and that no further extensions would be granted.
Today's Order does just that. It states at #3 that the Limited Objection is well taken. The Court modifies the June 4th Order to state that "Appellant SHALL NOT request or be granted any additional extensions of time. Further, Appellant's FAILURE to file its Appellant's Brief on or before June 15, 2007, SHALL SUBJECT THIS APPEAL TO DISMISSAL." [emphasis in the original]
#6 provides: "Inasmuch as the contents of this order are of unique interest to the bar, and of substantial importance, this order is hereby ORDERED PUBLISHED."
Comment. This is a civil law case. The ILB has received input from readers recently commenting that in criminal law cases Chief Judge Baker has made extensions for briefs "exceptional." One reader wrote "The automatic 30 days everyone was getting are no longer automatic. If you ask for 30, you might get 14. You might not. It doesn't matter much with direct criminal appeals, since a blown deadline will only mean per se ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. But it means a lot for the civil, juvenile, and post-conviction cases." Any other thoughts, pro or con?
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 8, 2007 03:39 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions