On May 7, 2020, the Nevada Supreme Court issued an administrative order, ADKT 0553, which amended Nevada Rule of Appellate Procedure 21. This order, which took effect on June 7, 2020, imposes, for the first time, limitations on the length for writ petitions. Specifically, a petition for extraordinary writ relief is now limited to 15 pages, 7,000 words (for proportionally spaced typeface, like Times New Roman), or 650 lines of text (for monospaced typeface, like Courier), whichever is longer. If the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals directs the real party in interest to file an answer to the petition, then the answer, reply, and any amicus brief are subject to the same page, word count, or line count limitations.
Moreover, the petition, and any applicable answer, reply, or amicus brief, must now include an NRAP 32(a)(9) certificate of compliance, setting forth the word or line count for the brief as well as information about the word processing program and font. A sample of the certificate of compliance can be found in Form 9 of the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Similarly, the petition, and any answer directed by the Court, must also now include an NRAP 26.1 disclosure statement. The disclosure statement must list all parent corporations for the filing party and any publicly held company that owns ten percent or more of the filing party’s stock (or disclose that no such corporations or companies exist).
Finally, if you believe that you will need to exceed the new limitations on the length of briefs in writ proceedings, you can file a motion requesting such relief. However, keep in mind that the Court does not look favorably upon these motions and they are not routinely granted. You must be able to demonstrate diligence in limiting the length of the brief and good cause to exceed the limitations. The motion must also be accompanied by:
About Sarah Harmon:
Sarah E. Harmon is Of Counsel at Bailey Kennedy and has over 18 years of experience in the areas of appellate advocacy and civil/business litigation, including breach of contract, fraud, legal malpractice, products liability, complex civil litigation, and many other types of business disputes. Her experience with appellate advocacy includes appeals from adverse judgments and orders as well as petitions for extraordinary writ relief. Ms. Harmon can assist clients with obtaining settlements and judgments before going to trial, avoiding errors at trial, and properly preserving issues for an appeal.
If you have any questions about appeals or civil/business litigation, please call or email Sarah Harmon at 702-562-8820 or SHarmon@BaileyKennedy.com. Additional resources can also be found at www.baileykennedy.com/category/articles/ or www.linkedin.com/in/sarahharmonbk.
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