Md. R. Rev. Ct. App. & Spec. App. 8-602

As amended through October 15, 2024

Rule 8-602 - Dismissal by Court

(a)On Motion or Court's Initiative. The court may dismiss an appeal pursuant to this Rule on motion or on the court's own initiative.

(b) When Mandatory. The court shall dismiss an appeal if:

(1) the appeal is not allowed by these Rules or other law; or

(2) the notice of appeal was not filed with the lower court within the time prescribed by Rule 8-202.

(c) When Discretionary. The court may dismiss an appeal if:

(1) the appeal was not properly taken pursuant to Rule 8-201;

(2) the appellant has failed to comply with the requirements of Rule 8-205 after being served with a notice pursuant to Rule 8-205(e);

(3) the record was not transmitted within the time prescribed by Rule 8-412, unless the court finds that the failure to transmit the record was caused by the act or omission of a judge, a clerk of court, the court reporter, or the appellee;

(4) the contents of the record do not comply with Rule 8-413;

(5) a brief or record extract was not filed by the appellant within the time prescribed by Rule 8-502;

(6) the style, contents, size, format, legibility, or method of reproduction of a brief, appendix, or record extract does not comply with Rules 8-112, 8-501, 8-503, or 8-504;

(7) the proper person was not substituted for the appellant pursuant to Rule 8-401; or

(8) the case has become moot.

Cross reference: Rule 8-501(m).

(d) Determination by Court. An order of the court dismissing an appeal or denying a motion to dismiss an appeal may be entered by the Chief Justice or Chief Judge, an individual justice or judge of the court designated by the Chief Justice or Chief Judge, or the number of justices or judges required by law to decide an appeal.

Cross reference: For the number of justices or judges required by law to decide an appeal, see Maryland Constitution, Article IV, § 14 and Code, Courts Article, § 1-403.

(e) Reconsideration of Dismissal.

(1)Motion for Reconsideration. No later than 20 days after the entry of an order dismissing an appeal, a party may file a motion for reconsideration of the dismissal.

(2)Number of Judges; Exception. A motion for reconsideration shall be determined by the number of justices or judges required by law to decide an appeal, except that an individual justices or judge who entered an order of dismissal may rescind the order and reinstate the appeal. The justices or judges who determine the motion for reconsideration may include one or more of the justices or judges who entered the order of dismissal.

Committee note: Although an individual justice or judge who entered an order of dismissal may rescind the order and reinstate the appeal upon a timely filed motion for reconsideration, a motion for reconsideration of the dismissal may be denied only by the number of justices or judges required by law to decide an appeal.

(3)Determination of Motion for Reconsideration. The court shall rescind an order of dismissal if:

(A) the court determines that the appeal should not have been dismissed;

(B) the appeal was dismissed pursuant to subsection (c)(2), (c)(3), or (c)(5) of this Rule and the court finds that there was good cause for the failure to comply with the applicable subsection of the Rule; or

(C) the appeal was dismissed pursuant to subsection (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(5), (c)(6), or (c)(7) of this Rule and the court finds that the interests of justice require reinstatement of the appeal.

(4)Reinstatement. If an order of dismissal is rescinded, the case shall be reinstated on the docket on the terms and conditions prescribed by the court.

(5)No Further Reconsideration by the Court

If an order dismissing an appeal is reconsidered under this section, the party who filed the motion for reconsideration may not obtain further reconsideration of the motion.

(f) Judgment Entered after Notice Filed. A notice of appeal filed after the announcement or signing by the trial court of a ruling, decision, order, or judgment but before entry of the ruling, decision, order, or judgment on the docket shall be treated as filed on the same day as, but after, the entry on the docket.

(g) Entry of Judgment not Directed Under Rule 2-602.

(1) If the appellate court determines that the order from which the appeal is taken was not a final judgment when the notice of appeal was filed but that the lower court had discretion to direct the entry of a final judgment pursuant to Rule 2-602(b), the appellate court, as it finds appropriate, may (A) dismiss the appeal, (B) remand the case for the lower court to decide whether to direct the entry of a final judgment, (C) enter a final judgment on its own initiative or (D) if a final judgment was entered by the lower court after the notice of appeal was filed, treat the notice of appeal as if filed on the same day as, but after, the entry of the judgment.

(2) If, upon remand, the lower court decides not to direct entry of a final judgment pursuant to Rule 2-602(b), the lower court shall promptly notify the appellate court of its decision and the appellate court shall dismiss the appeal. If, upon remand, the lower court determines that there is no just reason for delay and directs the entry of a final judgment pursuant to Rule 2-602(b), the case shall be returned to the appellate court after entry of the judgment. The appellate court shall treat the notice of appeal as if filed on the date of entry of the judgment.

(3) If the appellate court enters a final judgment on its own initiative, it shall treat the notice of appeal as if filed on the date of the entry of the judgment and proceed with the appeal.

Md. R. Rev. Ct. App. & Spec. App. 8-602

This Rule is in part derived from former Rules 1035 and 835 and in part new.

Adopted Nov. 19, 1987, eff. 7/1/1988. Amended March 30, 1993, eff. 7/1/1993; 12/10/1996, eff. 7/1/1997; 4/8/1997, eff. 10/1/1997; 10/31/2002, eff. 1/1/2003; 4/5/2005, eff. 7/1/2005; 9/10/2009, eff. 10/1/2009; 12/7/2015, eff. 1/1/2016; 4/9/2018, eff. 7/1/2018; amended February 9, 2022, eff. 4/1/2022; amended April 21, 2023, eff. 7/1/2023.

HISTORICAL NOTES

2002 Orders

The October 31, 2002, order rewrote subsec. (a)(4), which previously read: "an information report was not filed as required by Rule 8-205.

2005 Orders

The April 5, 2005, order rewrote sections (b) and (c), which previously read:

"(b) Determination by Court. Except as otherwise permitted in this section, a motion to dismiss shall be ruled on by the number of judges of the Court required by law to decide an appeal. The Chief Judge or a judge of the Court designated by the Chief Judge may rule on a motion to dismiss that is based on any reason set forth in subsection (2), (3), (5), (7) or (8) of section (a) of this Rule or on a motion to dismiss based on subsection (a)(4) of this Rule challenging the timeliness of the information report.

"(c) Reconsideration of Dismissal.

"(1) When Order Was Entered by Individual Judge. If an appeal was dismissed by the ruling of an individual judge pursuant to section (b) of this Rule, the order dismissing the appeal, on motion filed within ten days after entry of the order, shall be reviewed by the number of judges of the Court required by law to decide an appeal. The order dismissing the appeal (A) shall be rescinded if a majority of those judges decides that the motion to dismiss should not have been granted, (B) may be rescinded if the appeal was dismissed pursuant to subsection (4), (5), or (7) of section (a) of this Rule, and the Court is satisfied that the failure to file a report, transmit the record, or file a brief or record extract within the time prescribed by these Rules was unavoidable because of sickness or other sufficient cause, and (C) may be rescinded if the appeal was dismissed pursuant to subsection (a)(8) of this Rule and the Court is satisfied that a brief, appendix, or record extract complying with the Rules will be filed within a time prescribed by the Court.

"(2) When Order Was Entered by Court. If an appeal has been dismissed by the ruling of the Court or a panel pursuant to subsection (4), (6), (8), or (9) of section (a) of this Rule, the order dismissing the appeal, on motion filed within ten days after entry of the order, may be rescinded if the Court is satisfied that a report, record, brief, appendix, or record extract complying with the Rules will be filed or the proper party will be substituted within a time to be prescribed by the Court.

"(3) Reinstatement on Docket. If the order of dismissal is rescinded, the case shall be reinstated on the docket on the terms prescribed by the Court.

"(4) No Further Reconsideration by the Court. When an order dismissing an appeal is reviewed by the Court on motion filed pursuant to this section, the moving party may not obtain further reconsideration of the dismissal pursuant to Rule 8-605.

2009 Orders

The September 10, 2009, order, in section (a)(5), substituted "reporter for "stenographer.

2015 Orders

The December 7, 2015, order, made stylistic changes and deleted an obsolete cross reference.

2018 Orders

The April 9, 2018 order, reorganized the Rule, specified grounds for mandatory dismissals and grounds for discretionary dismissals, and made stylistic changes.