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Rule 107 – Briefs

May 15, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Civil Procedure common pleas, Delaware

(a) Number. The original of all briefs shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court in the county in which the case is pending. The Clerk of the Court shall deliver each brief to the appropriate Judge. A copy of every letter from counsel to the Court containing argument shall be sent to the Clerk of the Court for filing in the cause.
(b) Time of filing. Brief schedules shall be ordered by the Court, and extensions of time for filing briefs will not be authorized, whether or not consent of other parties is obtained, unless the Court enters an order upon a showing of good cause for such enlargement.
(c) Form. The title page of all briefs shall contain the following:

(1)

a. The name of this Court.
b. The title of the case and its number in this Court.
c. The name(s) of counsel for party submitting the brief with the office address(es) of such counsel.
(2) All typewritten briefs shall be upon paper approximately 8.5 inches by 11 inches in size and shall be bound on the left margin.
(3) Omitted.
(4) Except as provided below, citations will be deemed to be in acceptable form if made in accordance with the “Uniform System of Citation” published and distributed from time to time by the Harvard Law Review Association. The style of citation of all Delaware opinions which are reported in any series of the Atlantic Reporter shall be as set forth in the following examples:

Melson v. AlIman, Del. Supr., 244 A.2d 85 (1968)

Prince v. Binsinger, Del. Ch., 244 A.2d 89 (1968)

State v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., Del. Super., 244 A.2d 80 (1968)

All further references to the previous State Reporter System shall be omitted. The citation of reported opinions of other jurisdictions shall similarly designate the Court, the National Reporter System citation and the date, omitting references to any state reporter system.

(5) The style of citation of all Delaware opinions and orders which are unreported shall be as set forth in the following examples:

Gregory J.M. v. Carolyn A.M., Del. Supr., No. 77,181, Herrmann, C.J. (Mar. 12, 1982)

Ilona H.B. v. Edmund O.B., Del. Supr., No. 22,1981, Herrmann, C.J. (Nov. 12, 1981) (ORDER)

Schreiber v. Carney, Del. Ch., C.A. No. 6202, Harnett, V.C. (Dec. 3, 1982)

Hashorva Twer v. Hashorva, Del. Super., C.A. No. 78A -OC-6, Bifferato, J. (Oct. 21, 1980) G. v. G., Del. Fam., File No. C-589, Poppiti, J. (May 27, 1980)Williams v. Abbate, Del. CCP, C.A. No. 1992-06-001, DiSabatino, J. (Jan. 13, 1993)

(d) Contents. All briefs shall contain the following matter arranged in the following order:

(1) A table of contents or index.
(2) A table of citations arranged alphabetically and indicating the pages of the brief on which each cited authority appears.
(3) In the first brief of each party, a statement of the case, including a statement of the nature of the proceedings and a concise chronological statement, in narrative form, of all relevant facts with page references to the transcript of testimony, if any, and to any pleadings and exhibits.
(4) A statement of the questions involved.
(5) Argument, divided into sections under appropriate headings, one section to be devoted to each of the questions involved.
(e) Failure or neglect to file briefs or discovery material. If any brief, memorandum, deposition, affidavit or any other paper which is or should be a part of a case pending in this Court, is not served and filed within the time and in the manner required by these Rules or in accordance with any order of the Court or stipulation of counsel, the Court may, in its discretion, dismiss the proceeding if the plaintiff is in default, consider the motion as abandoned, or summarily deny or grant the motion, such as the situation may present itself, or take such other action as it deems necessary to expedite the disposition of the case. Upon the showing of good cause in writing, the Court may permit late filing of any of the aforesaid papers and pursuant to a written rule or order. This Rule shall not be deemed to affect any other Rule or Rules of the Court specifically providing for the time in which to file motions to which there may be attached briefs, affidavits and/or memoranda. If a motion to compel compliance with existing orders or stipulations is granted after an opportunity for hearing, the Court shall require the party, person or attorney advising the same whose conduct necessitated the motion, to pay to the other party the reasonable expenses in obtaining and/or attending the motion to compel including attorney’s fees, unless the Court finds the delay was justified or other circumstance make the award of expenses unjust.
(f) If an unreported or memorandum opinion is cited, a copy thereof shall be attached to the brief, and the case number in which it was filed shall be stated. If the opinion does not contain a sufficient statement of the facts to demonstrate its pertinency to the pending argument, a statement of the facts shall also be attached to the brief. If the citation is first made in a reply brief, the opposing party may discuss the opinion at oral argument or, upon application made at oral argument, may be given the opportunity to do so in writing.
(g) Lengths of briefs. Without leave of Court, an opening or answering brief shall not exceed a total of 35 pages and a reply brief shall not exceed 20 pages, exclusive of appendix. In the calculation of pages, the material required by paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of this Rule is excluded and the material required by paragraphs (d)(3) through (5) of this Rule is included.
(h) Letter memoranda. Every letter memorandum shall be governed in form as the Court may direct.

Del. Civ. R. C.P. 107