Rule 10. BRIEFS OF THE PARTIES: TIME OF FILING

(1) Principal Briefs.

(a) The appellant shall file a principal brief within 20 days after the appeal is docketed.

(b) The appellee shall file a principal response brief within 40 days after the appeal is docketed or 20 days after the filing of the principal brief of the appellant, whichever is later.

(2) Reply Brief. The appellant may file a reply brief within 50 days after the appeal is docketed or within ten days after the filing of the response brief of the appellee, whichever is later.

(3) Cross-Appeals. The cross-appellant shall file a principal brief within 20 days after the cross-appeal is docketed. The cross-appellee shall file a response brief within 40 days after the cross-appeal is docketed or 20 days after the filing of the principal brief of the cross-appellant, whichever is later. The cross-appellant may file a reply brief within 50 days after the cross-appeal is docketed or within ten days after the filing of the response brief of the cross-appellee, whichever is later. Appeals and cross-appeals may be argued in one brief, but doing so will not extend the time for filing or the page or word-count limits except by leave of the Court.

(4) Transferred Cases. If a case is transferred from the Court of Appeals to this Court, the parties may elect to rely on briefs already filed in the 14 Court of Appeals, and the parties shall notify the Court of their election, in writing, within two business days of docketing. If a party so elects, any such brief shall be considered as filed on the date of docketing in this Court. If additional briefs remain to be filed, those brief(s) shall be filed within the time required under this rule, using the date of docketing in this Court to calculate the filing time. If the party or parties do not elect to rely on briefs already filed in the Court of Appeals, they shall file their briefs within the time required under this rule, using the date of docketing in this Court as the operative date. See Rule 51(4) for oral argument requests in transferred cases and Rule 26.1 for filing a Certificate of Interested Persons (CIP) in transferred cases.

(5) Failure to File Briefs. A failure to comply with an order of the Court directing a party to file a brief may cause the filing to be rejected and the appeal to be dismissed, and it may also subject a party and its counsel to sanctions under Rule 7.